What Is Nobility?
by SimiXiamara
Summary: What happens when InuYasha can't let go of the past? Kagome realizes its time for her to move on, and there is only one person she doesn't feel guilty about asking to help her move on to a new future. - I do not own InuYasha... or Sesshomaru - which makes me sadface. This is all written for fun, not profit. - NOW COMPLETE - Check out the sequel Nobility Never Dies.
1. A Rescuer

"We've done it." The words were spoken in a lowered tone of disbelief. The light had just faded from the eyes of those gathered in the courtyard of what had once been a grand palace. Naraku was finally defeated, destroyed through the combined efforts of all those present. The words came from a certain lecherous monk who had ripped the prayer beads from his cursed hand and noted that the gaping wind-tunnel was now gone.

"We've done it!" This time, the words were spoken with more enthusiasm that could only come from Shippo, the young fox demon which traveled with the group, who bounced forward onto the shoulder of the young priestess who seemed to be in shock. "Kagome, did you hear? He's finally gone! We did it!" Ever the excitable one wasn't he?

Kagome slowly rose to her feet, staring at the two demons on either side of her who were both covered in their own blood, wielding their swords of ultimate power. Against all odds, Sesshomaru and InuYasha had put aside their differences momentarily to focus upon the one enemy that they all wanted destroyed. Kagome watched as the ever stoic-faced Sesshomaru sheathed his Bakusaiga and turned away from the group, paying little mind to his wounds as he departed the battlefield without so much as a glance over his shoulder. It was then that the miko's attention shifted to the hanyou to whom she had, years ago, given her heart. "Inu…Yasha?" Kagome moved towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder as he surveyed the large crater where Naraku had formerly been standing.

InuYasha straightened, sheathing the mighty Tetsusaiga and snorted. "Heh, that was for Kikyou," he whispered softly, closing his eyes in remembrance of the once all-powerful priestess whom he had fallen in love with. After a moment, he turned his attention back to Kagome as she lifted the jewel shards from the crater and placed all the remaining shards back together to their original glory. "Hey, Kagome! What are you gonna wish for?" he demanded, moving towards the girl along with the rest of their friends.

Kagome watched as the Shikon jewel in her grasp suddenly became whole again, finally, after three years, their quest was finally complete. She clutched the jewel to her chest and looked up at all of the friends she'd made over the years. Shippo, the adorable fox demon that they rescued from the Thunder brothers, he was perched on the shoulder of Sango, the demon slayer who had been forced to witness the destruction of her entire family and village. Beside Sango was Miroku, gripping his staff and looking as if he'd love nothing more than to fondle Sango's backside. Her eyes next fell to Koga of the wolf demon tribe, who had come with them to battle Kagura, the woman who had destroyed so many members of his pack. And finally, there was InuYasha.

InuYasha was the love of her life, the one person that she really and truly had always come back for. She rose to her feet, approaching her friends before looking down at the jewel in her hand. "I wish for the kami to do as they see fit," she stated clearly, watching the jewel glow in her grasp. The light grew so bright that all present were forced to avert their gazes, and when the light died down, finally, the Shikon no Tama was finally gone. Then, as Kagome looked back to the friends of her faces, there was only one that she had any time for, and she fell into the arms of the white-haired hanyou to whom she had promised herself.

Lifting Kagome bridal style, InuYasha leaned his head down enough to press his lips to her forehead. "Let's go, Kagome," he replied softly and with a single look towards the rest of their friends, he turned and ran, carrying Kagome with such ease that the little miko would have sworn that they were flying. When they stopped, after what felt like hours to Kagome, the light in the sky was already fading, and they were in their favorite spot. The place where InuYasha had vowed to make Kagome his Mate once their mission was complete. This place, a clearing on the edge of a series of hot springs, was where they had pledged their undying love for one another. Kagome let InuYasha place her on the edge of the rocks surrounding the hot springs, a faint blush to her cheeks as she looked to the ground, suddenly feeling exceptionally bashful. She wasn't sure why.

At 18 years of age, surely she should be past blushing like a 12 year old girl. She was a grown woman! Bringing her lower lip into her mouth between her teeth, she slowly looked up to see that InuYasha stood with his back to her. She rose slowly, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "InuYasha?" Kagome watched as he turned to face her. "What are you thinking about?"

A faint smile graced his lips. "You, of course," he stated softly, reaching up to gently cup her cheek. His claws lightly scraped across her skin, not daring to break the soft and creamy flesh as he leaned in for a kiss. As their lips met, his hand moved to her neck, the other wrapping lightly around her waist to pull their forms together. He felt Kagome's arms circle around his neck as he slowly pulled away from the kiss, looking down at her. "Are you ready for this, Kagome? You know that this is forever, don't you?" he asked, watching her carefully, his smile returning only when Kagome nodded.

_'Excellent,'_ his inner beast growled, rising to the surface as InuYasha pressed another kiss to her lips. His eyes closed, though they were already beginning to bleed bright red, his claws lengthening even as he held Kagome close. He pulled away, trailing kisses down her throat, nipping the junction between shoulder and neck that would soon bear his Mark for all eternity. He could hardly wait, and in his haste to claim her as his own, finally, he heard the faint sound of ripping fabric.

"InuYasha, slow down a little," Kagome said with a bit of laughter in her voice. After all, these were the only clothes she had! And she didn't fancy walking around with huge holes in her clothes after tonight, how embarrassing would that be?

"I can't…" InuYasha's voice was guttural, almost a growl. "I need you now, Kikyou." More sounds of ripping fabric and the cool breeze of the wind on delicate white skin.

"InuYasha! What did you just call me?" Kagome demanded, hands moving to InuYasha's shoulders to attempt to push him away. Her attempts were for naught, after all, InuYasha was considerably stronger than her. "InuYasha! Stop!" His grip on her arms was starting to hurt, and suddenly, she was so very cold. InuYasha had made short work of her shirt and her short skirt had been hiked up quite a lot. "InuYasha! No!" But the demon within him would not comply. Then, there was even more pain to go with her newly forming bruises. His nails really were quite long as they grabbed her legs. By now, she was panicing, and all she could think of was getting InuYasha off of her.

(MEANWHILE)

Blood. The scent of blood in the air. Sesshomaru walked silently through the night away from the battle scene where he had exacted his revenge. Tonight, of all nights, he should not be surprised by the scent of blood on the wind, but this blood, it was familiar. He flashed back to the last time he had smelled this particular scent of blood, in a battle nearly a year ago. Kagome was bleeding, she had taken a hit to the arm and though she was injured, she moved around to help villagers who had been injured in the crossfire. It had been then when he'd realized that perhaps he had been wrong about this human. She had a strength and loyalty that rivaled that of any full-fledged demon.

Kagome had not been physically injured in the fight against Naraku, though her purifying arrow had provided himself and InuYasha the perfect path to follow to destroy him. Which could only mean one thing: someone else was hurting Kagome. Instead of wasting valuable energy to fly, he simply began to run in the direction the wind was carrying Kagome's scent from. It wasn't long before the sound of her screams met his keen ears, and what he heard made him see red. So his brother had decided to claim her this night, only it seemed like she wasn't all that keen on the idea. Entering into the clearing, the scent of Kagome's blood filling his nostrils, her screams ringing in his ears, he hoisted InuYasha from the fragile human girl, hurling him into the rocks surrounding the hot springs.

"Usually, when a female tells you to stop, it indicates that she does not wish to continue the actions which you are pursuing," he stated softly. He turned to face the girl on the ground whose clothes were torn into tatters as she tried to cover herself up with the scraps of cloth which remained. He held out his hand to her to help her up before his ears caught the sound of InuYasha's approach. He turned to face the male, raising his hand to strike when he was beaten to the attack by a simple word.

"SIT!"

Sesshomaru watched as his brother was forced to the ground roughly, tilting his head as he slowly lowered his hand and straightened himself.

"Sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, SIT!" Kagome yelled, tears in her eyes as she forced InuYasha to the ground over and over again. She slowly rose, ignoring the beads of blood rolling down her legs and arms from the scratches inflicted upon her by InuYasha. She held what remained of her shirt to her chest in an attempt to keep her front covered. She looked up into the eyes of her rescuer, blushing furiously, even as she continued to cry silently. "I'm sorry, Sesshomaru, you should not have to see me like this."

Sesshomaru turned to fully face Kagome, reaching down to grip her chin as her gaze had drifted back to the ground. "Little miko. You avert your gaze to no one. Do not apologize for the actions of a worthless scrap of meat." He raised his own chin, looking down at her slightly. "This Sesshomaru apologizes for the actions of one who shares his blood. He has disgraced our father and his own mother by his actions tonight. This Sesshomaru requests that you allow yourself to be taken elsewhere so that you might clean up and acquire fresh clothing." He held out his hand to the female, watching her carefully with cold eyes.

Kagome slowly looked at the hand Sesshomaru had offered and then slowly raised her gaze up to his gaze. She straightened slightly, using all her will power to keep her voice from cracking. "Yes, please." She reached out, taking his hand, and then they were flying.


	2. Where Is Kagome?

It was darker than expected when Kagome first opened her eyes. She didn't even really remember falling asleep. Where was she? Previous events came flooding back to her mind as she remembered the defeat of Naraku, and the betrayal of InuYasha. She slowly pushed herself into a sit and realized, with embarrassment, that she was wearing completely different clothes from what she had been wearing when she'd been saved by – Sesshomaru. Her face filled with blood as she blushed at the thought of Sesshomaru seeing her in the buff. Her attention was diverted when suddenly the door to her room, for yes, it was a real _room_ with a real _bed_, was thrown open.

A young girl, probably around the age of 15 or 16, not much younger than herself, came forward and pushed the cloth over the window to the side to allow in some light before the girl came to the side of the bed and bowed down to her. Kagome stared wide-eyed at the girl whose hair was pulled back to reveal pointed ears similar to those of Sesshomaru, marking her as a demon. Her hair was bright red, however, and her eyes were bright green as she raised them to look at Kagome. "My lady, Lord Sesshomaru instructed me to inform you that breakfast is being served and that your presence is required once you have properly bathed."

Kagome frowned slightly at the demon girl. "Um, yeah, sure, okay." She slowly got to her feet and followed the girl out into what seemed to be like a private garden surrounded by a wall. Right in the center of a field of flowers was a hot spring. Kagome's eyes widened, it was almost akin to a private bathroom! And in the feudal era! Who would ever have thought? She grinned, turning to the demon only find that she was gone. Well then, who was she to look a gift in the mouth? She removed the light pink kimono that she was wearing and draped it onto one of the rocks surrounding the spring.

Sinking into the hot water, Kagome let out a soft sigh of relief. The cuts and bruises on her person from InuYasha were still stinging, and she knew that they would have to be covered unless she wanted to further explain her humiliation to her friends. Her usual skirt wouldn't cover it that was for sure. Of course, those clothes were probably destroyed by now. She sighed, picking up a bowl of scented herbs and sprinkled some into the water as she took a piece of cloth to rid her body of the dirt from the scrap on the ground last night. When she rose from the water, she remembered that she didn't have any clothes except the kimono she'd just been sleeping in.

However her fears were put to rest when she re-entered her room and noticed a new, clean kimono that was white with red floral designs. She smiled faintly as she touched the fabric and found that it was woven from silk. Trust Sesshomaru to go all out on absolutely everything. She dressed quickly after drying her body and her hair, twisting her long hair, which now came down to her waist, up into a twist, taking a few decorative chopsticks from the table located in the room that also held some flower petals for perfume purposes and then went to the door. She was surprised to see the female demon there once more. "Oh, hello, can you tell me where…"

"Follow me please," the demon stated, turning and moving down a hallway. "My name is Mai, and by the order of Lord Sesshomaru, I am now your personal servant. If you have need of anything at all, do not hesitate to let me know and I will do for you whatever I am able." She never once looked back at Kagome as she lead her towards a rather large set of doors after making so many twists and turns that Kagome just _knew_ she was going to be lost trying to find her way back. Mai turned to open the door and gestured for Kagome to enter, and as she did, she noticed that Sesshomaru was not by himself.

To his left sat the child Rin and as she walked into the room, another servant moved forward to gesture to the cushion on Sesshomaru's right, apparently for her to occupy. "Kagome-sama, you look so pretty!" Rin was smiling at her from across the table as she spoke, causing Kagome to blush ever-so-slightly and give a small nod.

"Thank you, Rin. You look pretty too," she added as a bit of an afterthought. At this point, however, the servants were placing plates of food in front of the three whom were present, and Kagome could have drooled at the sight of the breakfast. It felt like it had been so long since she'd eaten, though as she thought about it, she hadn't eaten since the small, and hurried, breakfast that their group had yesterday morning before battling Naraku. Unfortunately, as she lifted her utensils to prepare to dig in, she felt a slight tap to her leg beneath the table. Kagome frowned, looking up at Rin. "Why did you kick me just now?" she asked.

Rin cast a glance towards Sesshomaru as the inuyoukai placed a cloth over his lap before leaning in to partake of his own food. Only then did Rin pick up her own utensils and gesture that Kagome could now eat. Oh, apparently, they had to wait for Sesshomaru to start eating before they could. What an odd custom. Of course, she'd only ever eaten around her group of friends, and then it was kind of just a free-for-all. None-the-less, the food was exceptional, and not a bit of food was left on Kagome's plate when she was finished. As she placed her chopsticks to her lips for the final time, she noticed then that Sesshomaru was watching her from the corner of his eye. She blushed, looking down at her plate, wondering what she had done wrong now.

"Were your chambers suitable to your liking?" Sesshomaru asked in his stoic voice, taking the napkin he had placed over his lap to lightly dab at his mouth, though there wasn't the slightest need for Sesshomaru had not allowed any food to go anywhere other than his mouth.

Kagome gave a faint nod. "Y-yes, thank you so much for letting me use the room. I-I don't even remember falling asleep last night," she said simply. The only thing she could think of was that she had just been so tired that her body had just been running on autopilot.

"You fell asleep on the journey here; I carried you to your chambers and instructed Mai to make sure you were comfortable and to dispose of your ripped clothing." Well at least there was that and Kagome didn't have to worry about Sesshomaru having seen her naked. That was a relief to the young miko. There was silence for a moment longer before Sesshomaru spoke again, slowly getting to his feet, which caused Rin to jump to her feet as well, and Kagome got the message that she was to rise as well. Getting off of her knees, she straightened slightly and looked to the white-haired youkai.

"While you are here, you are to be Rin's caretaker. Keep her entertained and out of trouble. This Sesshomaru has much work to be done and cannot afford to have Rin underfoot. I have neglected my duties to the West while searching for Naraku." With that, he turned and moved away from the table as if his words were not to be questioned, leaving the two female humans to watch him leave.

Kagome watched Sesshomaru leave and wonder what he'd meant by her staying here. Surely he didn't mean that she was going to be here for much longer. She had rather expected to have him tell her that she would have to leave soon, after all, it wasn't uncommon knowledge that Sesshomaru was not all that fond of humans save for the young girl across from her. However, Kagome was not about to complain, she really didn't want to go back and have to face InuYasha yet. Or her other friends for that matter, who were probably wondering where she had disappeared to.

(MEANWHILE)

"What do you mean, Sesshomaru must have taken her?" Sango was not in the least very happy about InuYasha's news. How could InuYasha have allowed Kagome to be kidnapped so soon after Naraku's defeat? Why did Sesshomaru, Lord of the West, want Kagome anyway?

"I'm telling you, that is the only place she could have gone! Sesshomaru just showed up last night uninvited and attacked us! When I woke up, Kagome was gone." InuYasha was leaning against a tree with the Tetsusaiga leaning against his shoulder. Of course, he wasn't letting on what Sesshomaru had interrupted last night, though now that his mind was clear, a part of him was glad that Sesshomaru had interfered and stopped him from hurting Kagome anymore. However, that didn't mean that Sesshomaru had the right to have his grubby hands all over what was _his._

And he was going to get her back, one way or another.

"So are we going to go rescue her, or not?" InuYasha demanded of the friends he and Kagome had made. He was just glad that when he'd finally found the group, Koga was already gone. He really didn't need to listen to that mangy wolf berate him for losing Kagome. It was bad enough with Sango, Shippo, and Miroku glaring daggers at him. "W-what?" he demanded.

"InuYasha, what reason could your half-brother possibly have for taking Kagome against her will right now? Naraku is dead, Sesshomaru has no need of Kagome," Miroku reasoned, voicing Sango's own line of thoughts. "And if she was not taken against her will, that makes me wonder why she would have volunteered to leave in the middle of what I suspect was a very intimate moment between you two."

"Yeah! What did you do this time, InuYasha?" Shippo shouted from his perch on Miroku's shoulder.

"What? I didn't do anything! Kagome would never have gone with Sesshomaru willingly. He had to have taken her! How should I know why? Maybe he was tired of babysitting that human girl and needed a nanny!" InuYasha wouldn't make eye contact with the rest of his group, causing them all to wonder how much truth there was to what InuYasha had told them.

"Well, either way, we do need to find Kagome, if only to make sure she's alright," Sango replied, stroking her hand over Kirara's head, smiling at the light chirping purr that was granted to her at the gesture. She got to her feet then, stretching her arms up above her head. There was another reason that they needed to find Kagome, she couldn't have a wedding without Kagome there! Kagome was the closest thing she'd ever had to a sister.

And so the group began to pack up their campsite so that they could set off on the next leg of their journey, with InuYasha in the lead, they all began walking to the West where Sesshomaru was rumored to have his own palace. For if Sesshomaru had truly taken Kagome, that was sure to be where they were.


	3. When is it too much?

"Milord, Lord Akinori wishes an audience with you." Sesshomaru raised his gaze from the scroll he was looking over containing a new law that the council of demon lords wished to pass across the Four Corners of Japan. He gave a faint nod to the servant who had announced that Akinori, the Lord of the Southern Lands, wished to speak with him.

"Very well, I shall converse with him in the meeting hall," he replied, picking up a brush and dipping it into the ink well before blotting it on a piece of cloth and proceeding to place his name at the bottom of the scroll to indicate that he agreed with the law before rinsing the brush and rising to his feet to go and meet the other Lord.

* * *

"Rin, slow down, you're going to fall and hurt yourself!" Kagome rushed after the young girl quickly in the gardens surrounding the palace that Sesshomaru called home. She laughed as Rin slowed down just enough for Kagome to wrap her arms around her waist and tackle her to the ground, though as they went down, Kagome turned them so that she was the one hitting the ground to avoid hurting the child in her grip. It was hard to believe she was only 8 years older than the girl currently on top of her, Rin seemed so much more innocent, especially for someone of this time period. Kagome figured that it must be Sesshomaru's influence. Being an immortal demon, he probably still treated Rin as if she were only 7 years old.

"No fair, Kagome!" Rin exclaimed, giggling as the miko actually began to tickle her at this point, though their fun was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"Oh, we're sorry, we didn't realize you were there," Kagome explained, getting up off of the ground and offering a small bow to the demon standing near them. She wasn't sure what kind he was, but his aura seemed rather substantial in comparison to most demons Kagome came into contact with. It reminded her, in a way, of Sesshomaru's aura, so this man must be quite a powerful demon.

"Do not feel the need to apologize, human. Continue on with your previous actions," the demon responded before he turned away, following one of Sesshomaru's servants into the meeting hall where Sesshomaru himself was just arriving and seated himself on a slightly raised portion of the floor on a red cushion. He gestured for the other male to take a seat as well, and so he did, situating himself across from Sesshomaru. "Lord Sesshomaru, it is good to see you again, and in such good health."

"Get to the point, Lord Akinori, this Sesshomaru has urgent matters to be tended to." Sesshomaru wasn't in the mood to dance around the business that the southern Lord had come to speak about. He tended to think that such banter back and forth about health and weather was simply a waste of time.

"Ah, ever to the point, Lord Sesshomaru," Akinori responded with a slight smile to his features, though if the cold look to his eyes could be read, one would not think this smile had anything to do with amusement. "A village here in the west, apparently, has been stealing horses from a village in the south beyond my boarders. I come here to request your cooperation to allow me to exact payment."

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed ever so slightly at the other lord's presumption. "Denied. I will, however, go to this village myself and demand that the horses be returned or proper payments made to the previous owners," he stated matter-of-factly.

Akinori's expression did not falter, though his smile seemed a bit more strained. "That is not acceptable, Lord Sesshomaru, after all, how does this Akinori know for certain that Lord Sesshomaru has, indeed, done as he has sworn?" He narrowed his eyes before his smile grew into a smirk. "Fine then, forget the horses. I shall call things even if you give me the young miko you have enlisted for your palace. I find myself in need of a new spiritual advisor and she will do nicely."

This time, Sesshomaru was on his feet. "Denied. You will leave my palace immediately, Lord Akinori. I told you I will handle the matter of the stolen horses, and if you have issue with the settlement that I instill, then you can come back and speak with me again, until then, may your lands be fruitful and your rivers never dry," he growled out formally before turning and moving towards the door. "Jaken!" he shouted, and the small demon suddenly burst forth into the room. "See to it that Lord Akinori reaches the southern border before night fall."

"Yes, Lord Sesshomaru, right away!" Jaken screeched, rushing to the Lord's side and lightly prodding him with his staff. "Let us be going then, Lord Akinori, we have a long way to go before the sun sets!"

Sesshomaru moved back into the room he used as his private study and moved to the small balcony which overlooked the gardens. He watched as Kagome chased Rin around one of the trees planted in the garden. His eyes fell to the young girl who had been his loyal traveling companion for years and the sheer joy on her features. No, he couldn't give Kagome to Lord Akinori. With a hint of amusement flaring through his mind, Sesshomaru realized that Kagome might not even allow herself to be given to someone else.

He turned his attention then towards the southern gat where he could hear Lord Akinori arguing with Jaken about his departure, though just as Sesshomaru knew he would, Jaken was refusing to allow the southern lord order him around. But now, he had a matter of stolen horses to deal with. With Jaken gone, there was no one else he trusted to leave the girls with, so they would simply have to come with him. Moving up onto the railing of the balcony, he stepped down off into the garden, reaching out with his right arm to snag Rin around the waist as she came around the corner.

"Oh! Lord Sesshomaru! Have you come to play with me and Kagome?" Rin asked, grinning up at the large male as Kagome stopped a few feet away.

"Kagome and I," Sesshomaru corrected automatically of the young girl.

"Right, right, Kagome and I," Rin stated, unfazed by Sesshomaru's correction of her grammar.

"No, not right now, Rin. There is a disturbance to the south and you will both be accompanying this Sesshomaru to settle the matter," he stated matter-of-factly that allowed for no argument or questioning. With that, he began walking towards the eastern gate. They would take the long way to the village to avoid a confrontation with Lord Akinori. At the gate, he turned his head and whistled sharply.

From the edge of the forest not far from the road leading to the castle, a certain two-headed dragon made their way from the forest. He raised a hand, gliding his fingers over the scales of the large beast. "You will carry the miko and Rin, we are going south." With that, Ah-Un walked forward and knelt down so that Rin and Kagome could climb on.

Kagome was still confused about the whole thing, why were they leaving so soon? Had they not just gotten there the previous day? But she supposed that she had nothing better to do, why fight it? After all, there was still much of this Japan that she had not seen, and she would have to go back eventually, she knew that. After all, eventually, she had to go home, didn't she? So as she watched Rin climb onto Ah-Un's back, she slowly moved up behind Rin, arms moving around her to take the reins so that Rin wouldn't fall off as Ah-Un began to follow Sesshomaru.

* * *

A few hours after Sesshomaru had departed with his human female companions there was a rather large commotion at the eastern gate of the palace.

"You cannot enter. The Lord is not home at present time, come back when he has returned and request an audience with him." _Though I doubt he'll make time in his busy schedule for a hanyou and a bunch of humans, _was the thought which completed the command from the gate guard.

"Damn you! I know he's got Kagome locked up in there, and I'm not leaving until I get her back!" InuYasha shouted as he drew out his Tetsusaiga. "Sesshomaru! Come out and fight you coward!" he shouted.

There was a flurry of movement beyond the palace walls as the soldiers who guarded the outer wall moved into formation. They could not let this intruder into the palace! The Lord of the West was not known for his forgiving nature! He would kill them all if they let this filthy half-breed cross through the gates while he was not home. As InuYasha stood ready to take down the gate with his Windscar, behind him, Miroku and Sango sat astride Kirara with Shippo, wondering if they should help InuYasha or not.

"InuYasha, why don't we just make camp nearby in the forest and wait for Sesshomaru to come back?" Sango called down to the half-demon.

InuYasha growled, glaring up at his comrades. "You honestly think Sesshomaru is just going to let us waltz in there either way? The only way to rescue Kagome is by force! I will take down this whole wall if need be!" With that, he raised the mighty Tetsusaiga and brought it down with great force. "Windscar!"

The explosion was quite significant. Even from the air, Sango was not able to see the extent of the damage caused to the western palace for all the dirt and debris which obscured her view. There was no way there would not be an all-out war from Sesshomaru now.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to all of you who are reading my story! I'm glad you all seem to be enjoying it. I'm not entirely sure where this story is going to end up, I tend to just write and let it go whichever way it wants to, but if any of you have suggestions, I'm glad to take anything under advisement! Please review!


	4. Smoke precedes the Fire

"Lord Sesshomaru!"

"It's Lord Sesshomaru!"

"What could he want here?"

"My lord!" One brave human came out away from his fellows as Sesshomaru entered into the village that Lord Akinori claimed had been stealing horses from his land. Sesshomaru's attention moved to the human that approached him, the scent of fear crowding around him. The scent was nearly completely overwhelming.

"This Sesshomaru has received word that this village was stealing horses from the south lands. Take me to the stables," he ordered sharply. After all, it was common knowledge that every village in the south, by order of the ever paranoid Lord Akinori, placed a brand on all livestock.

"My lord," The human male cast a glance back to his comrades before bowing his head, staring intently at the ground. "Our village is a poor one and we have no stables for livestock. The only horse the village possesses belongs to that of the Priest, who lives atop the hill there in the shrine," he stated rather nervously, pointing in the correct direction. "He is the head of our village."

Sesshomaru turned his attention towards the top of the hill. Interesting, why would Lord Akinori stage something like this? He turned back towards Ah-Un and frowned as he noticed that Kagome was warily looking down at one of the human men who seemed to be attempting to inspect Ah-Un closer, yet his hand was brushing Kagome's leg. Eyes flashing red for a brief moment, he strode forward, grabbing hold of the human wrist attached to the hand that dared offend the little miko. The human cried out and Sesshomaru vaguely heard the sound of a cracking bone. "Do not touch that which does not belong to you," he growled viciously, thrusting the human back away from the group. "Ah-Un, to the shrine." With that, he turned and moved towards the stairs which moved up the hillside and made his way towards the shrine.

"Sesshomaru!" The inuyoukai turned to face the shouting girl as Kagome slid off of Ah-Un's back once he reached the top. "How _dare_ you do that to that man, you are as bad as InuYasha!"

Sesshomaru slowly turned to face him, his eyes hard as he watched the female. "So you wanted me to continue to let him taint you with his touch? I beg your pardon, little miko, next time I shall allow you to be ravished by strange human men. I was unaware that you were in to that sort of thing." He stepped up in front of her, mere inches from her person and towering over the smaller female. "Also, I don't _ever _want to hear you compare me to that filthy hanyou."

Kagome placed her hands on her hips angrily, leaning up to push herself up into Sesshomaru's face just a bit more, not allowing herself to show that she was rather afraid of Sesshomaru. Of course, she'd always been taught that you should never let a dog know that you're afraid. It's all about intimidation, after all.

"That is _not _what I mean and you damn well know it!"

"Um… Kagome… maybe you should just let it go?" Rin's meek voice barely made it to Kagome's ears as the girl watched Sesshomaru's reaction to Kagome's fury.

"No, I most certainly will _not_ let it go! You didn't have to break his arm to make him stop touching me, Sesshomaru, and you know it! All those people down there are completely terrified of you! You didn't have to go and physically hurt someone to make your point!" Kagome insisted, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sesshomaru was glaring down at Kagome, though as she leaned up towards him, he found himself momentarily distracted by her scent. It was… intoxicating. It was also different somehow at this moment than it had been previously. Her anger on behalf of the human was irritating. However her anger brought forward some benefits. Her heartbeat was elevated; her blood pumping harder and her scent was filled now with something that wasn't there before. He stared down at the little miko, a part of him rather dumbfounded though he showed no outward sign of it. He'd never had anyone, let alone a tiny human girl, stand up to him in such a way. Finally, he managed to regain control over himself, suppressing the desire to lean forward and inhale the scent of her hair.

"If I don't hurt one of them every now and then, they begin to doubt my commitment to being a heartless bastard." It was a simple response, his eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly as he glared down at the female. Thereafter ensued what some would think of as a staring contest. Neither seemed to want to be the first to back down and look away. It ended up coming to a draw when a noise was heard off to the side and they both looked to see the village priest exiting his small hut.

Sesshomaru straightened himself and moved towards the human male. "Show me your horse," he commanded regally, making a good show of glaring down his nose at the priest.

"I-Yes, Lord Sesshomaru," the elderly man stated, slowly moving around his hut to where a horse was located, tied to a tree with a long lead so that it was able to graze on the grass. "She's not much to look at, but she's sturdy sir. But… I… surely you don't need a horse, your Lordship. You have that fine dragon that you could ride upon, do you not?"

Sesshomaru moved towards the beast, only to have the horse whinny and back away from him. He wrinkled his nose slightly. "Contain that beast, and no, this Sesshomaru has no need of a smelly animal like that. But there has been an accusation made that your village is stealing horses from the south."

The priest's eyes widened slightly. "Lord Sesshomaru, we would never! You must believe me. No one in the village is capable of such treachery!"

"Contain that animal so that I might inspect it. I will not repeat myself again."

It wasn't the priest that moved forward to grasp the animal though. To the surprise of the priest, it was Kagome that strode forward, stroking her hand over the horse's muzzle gently and issuing soft cooing noises to the horse, allowing Sesshomaru to get close enough to see that there was no brand on the horse. Well wasn't that odd, why would Lord Akinori make untrue accusations? Sesshomaru was puzzled. Pulling away from the beast, he turned to walk away.

"Hn… Kagome, we are leaving." Sesshomaru returned to the side of Ah-Un to see that Rin had remained with the dragon.

Kagome looked after Sesshomaru in surprise. Had he just… called her by her name? That was the first time that he had not referred to her as 'miko' or 'girl'. Did that mean that he was starting to… accept her as a part of his usual travelling group? She smiled brightly and moved after Sesshomaru quickly, waving farewell to a rather confused looking priest.

Climbing on the back of Ah-Un, Kagome was still smiling, causing Rin to look at her curiously. "What are you so happy about, Kagome-sama?" Rin asked as Ah-Un took to the air after Sesshomaru who had already taken flight.

"Oh, nothing, don't you worry about it, Rin," Kagome said, still smiling as she looked past the girl to Sesshomaru, watching as the wind blew threw his hair while they flew through the skies. He really was rather beautiful when he wasn't trying to kill her. There was an aura of mystery around him, and a hint of something else, and it occurred to her that Sesshomaru could have easily struck her down during their argument earlier. So why had he withheld himself?

Her thoughts were cut short, however, as they saw smoke rising in the distance. Kagome frowned slightly, looking to Sesshomaru who seemed intent on the horizon as well. He seemed alarmed if one could say that Sesshomaru had any expression to show. She saw him turn to them and slow until he was even with Ah-Un.

"Stay back with Ah-Un and Rin. This Sesshomaru goes forward to see what is going on." With that, he shot forward so quickly that it was almost like he had disappeared. Yeah right! Like she was going to hang back when there could be some kind of fight going on up ahead, so what if she was without her bow and arrow? She couldn't just stand by and watch. Gripping the reins of Ah-Un tightly, she urged them forward faster. What could be going on up ahead?

* * *

"Adamant barrage!" Shards of crystals shot forward into the ranks of the guards who stood between InuYasha and the remainder of the palace, most of which had been destroyed by other attacks. It wouldn't be long though, the soldiers were wearing thin, though since InuYasha was reluctant to kill any of the humans, the fight had lasted longer than he would have preferred. However, soon enough, he was presented with a proper target to direct his anger.

"Lord Sesshomaru! Lord Sesshomaru has returned!"

InuYasha's attention was diverted to the form of his demon half-brother as he strode calmly up the road towards their group.

"Heh, 'bout time you got here, Sesshomaru. Now, where is Kagome?" InuYasha demanded, turning the Tetsusaiga towards his brother who continued to walk forward as if InuYasha had not spoken at all.

"Why do you attack the home of my forefathers, half-breed? Are you angry because Father left it and the Lordship of the West to this Sesshomaru instead of you? Is the Tetsusaiga not enough for you, little brother?" Sesshomaru's voice was void of any emotion as he paused several feet away from InuYasha, watching him passively.

"Sesshomaru! Where have you hidden Kagome?" Sango shouted as Kirara landed just behind InuYasha, allowing Miroku, Shippo, and Sango to leap to the ground and stand behind InuYasha.

"Hidden? You must be mistaken. I have not hidden the miko anywhere." Sesshomaru reached down, retrieving the Bakusaiga from its sheath and facing down InuYasha.

"Wait! Stop! Don't do this!" Sesshomaru let out a rather feral growl that caused the human soldiers nearby to step away from their Lord. Sesshomaru's attention turned to the sky, along with those of InuYasha and his comrades.

"Kagome!" Shippo's shout was heard loud and clear as he launched himself from Sango's shoulder and leapt towards Kagome as Ah-Un landed on the ground behind Sesshomaru. "You're okay!"

Kagome wrapped her arms around Shippo gently, smiling as she nuzzled down against him. "Of course I'm okay. I just had to get away for a little while. Sesshomaru was nice enough to let me tag along with him for a little while." She moved up to stand beside of Sesshomaru for a moment, looking over along the ruins of the eastern gate and eastern entrance of the palace. She winced, looking up at Sesshomaru. "I'm sorry about your palace," she said softly. "But please don't hurt them." She raised a hand slowly, resting it over his right hand which held his sword. "They were only worried for me."

"So you expect me to forgive that they have destroyed half of my palace, attacked my guards, and brought insult not only to myself but to the memory of my forefathers?" Sesshomaru demanded with a faint hint of disbelief in his voice. "Why should I do that?" Though he had to admit, the heat emanating from her hand was rather nice…

Kagome just offered a small smile. "Because now they owe you," she stated, looking back towards her friends. "I think it only fair that since they made the mess, then they should clean it up, don't you agree, InuYasha?"

"What? No way am I cleaning this up! I was trying to rescue you! You should be thanking me on bended knee!" InuYasha was outraged and stormed forward towards Kagome only to have his advance be blocked by Sesshomaru. "You're in the way again, Sesshomaru."

"InuYasha, sit!" Kagome shouted, forcing InuYasha to smash into the ground. Kagome strode forward, glaring down at the half-demon. "It's your own fault that I came here you self-centered jerk! And either you will clean up this mess, or I'll let Sesshomaru take it out of your hide!" she exclaimed before turning away from the group. She reached out, grabbing hold of Rin's hand while Shippo was perched on her shoulder once more, and wove her way through the debris and wreckage to see what damage had been done inside.

Sesshomaru watched as Kagome stormed away from InuYasha while taking the two young ones along with her. He looked towards InuYasha who was picking himself up from the ground to the group of humans behind him. "Repairs will start tomorrow… I expect all of you to participate if you wish to keep your lives." With that, he sheathed his sword and followed after Kagome.

Sango and Miroku exchanged a glance with one another.

"Well that was odd. Who is that, and what has he done with Sesshomaru?"


	5. A True Gentleman

"What do you think InuYasha did to Kagome to make her join up with Sesshomaru?" Sango's question was posed to Miroku as they were lead down an undamaged hallway by a demon who did not seem all that pleased that they were there.

"I do not know. I thought all this drama would be ended after Kikyou had gone on to Nirvana," Miroku reasoned as he walked slowly behind Sango, forefinger and thumb lightly gripping his own chin. "We both know InuYasha isn't about to tell us what happened, so our best chance is to convince Kagome to tell us what happened."

"Perhaps I can get her alone tomorrow to ask her." Sango paused as the demon in front of her did and looked at the room the demon said was to be her own. She looked back to Miroku, wondering if she should just let him stay with her in her room. They weren't technically married yet, but hopefully it wouldn't be long. She shook her head at the thought. No, it was best to just wait for the main event. "Good night, Miroku," Sango stated simply before she headed into the room and slid the door shut.

"Milord! I am so relieved to see you unharmed! But what happened at the Eastern gate?" Jaken's voice rang through Sesshomaru's study as he stood on the balcony, surveying the damage that had been done by his filthy half-brother.

"InuYasha decided to pay us a visit."

"Yet he still lives, milord? I heard the servants saying that he was even put up in a room!" Jaken sounded surprised that Sesshomaru had spared InuYasha after he had done such a horrible thing. "Pardon me for saying, milord, but why did you spare his life?"

Sesshomaru continued staring out into the growing darkness over the Western lands, not bothering to look back at Jaken as he replied simply. "It did not suit me at the time. He will repair the damage he has done, and then I shall dispose of him once his usefulness has run its course." But as he stood there, staring into the night, he couldn't help but wonder what the true reason was for allowing InuYasha to continue breathing. It was not simply because he did not wish to. No, that was just an excuse that Sesshomaru had thought of later. Was it truly because of the girl? He had found himself unwilling to slay InuYasha or the humans with him simply because he did not want to upset Kagome.

How odd. Why did he suddenly care whether or not he upset the little miko? She was nothing to him, after all. Then again, his mind flashed back to earlier in the day when Kagome had stood up to him. She was brave, for a human. And watching her with Rin, and again just a short while ago, with the young kitsune, she had a maternal side. A shame, really, that the man for which she held feelings was not a man at all. Even at two-hundred years old, InuYasha still acted like a spoiled human child. He could not give the miko what she needed.

A small smirk played the corners of Sesshomaru's mouth, barely visible to the naked eye, and it was only by chance that Jaken managed to catch it. Perhaps that would be the ultimate revenge upon InuYasha, better than slaying him: he could destroy InuYasha's pride. It was the perfect plan, of course, how better to teach his younger brother a lesson than to show him that actions had consequences? The council of Lords was already pressuring him to take a mate. They had been for the last century. The fact that he had no heir at four-hundred disturbed them for some reason. Of course, some modifications would need to be made on the little miko before she was mate material for someone like him.

"Jaken," he stated suddenly, startling the smaller demon. "Tomorrow once the repairs commence, you will bring Kagome to my study, we have much to discuss. Now leave me." It was not a request. He had much to do before morning if his plan was to work. He heard Jaken depart from his study and he turned to a shelf full of scrolls. The time was upon him, he would have his ultimate revenge.

"I told you, I'm not doing any of that!"

The sun had just broken over the mountains in the east to cast its light upon the Western palace when Kagome was awoken by shouting. She shifted, stretching her limbs out onto the magnificent bed, smiling when a warm heat beside of her shifted as well. She looked down, stroking her fingers through Shippo's hair. He had refused to leave her side last night, though she knew that Sesshomaru would likely insist that Shippo have his own room while they were here. It took her a moment to realize what it was that had really drawn her from her slumber.

"Well you can tell Sesshomaru that he can take his orders to someone who gives a shit, 'cause it ain't me."

"InuYasha," Kagome sighed wearily. Why was he making such a fuss about all of this? It wasn't like they hadn't helped rebuild villages after demon attacks before, why was he being so difficult? Was it just because it was Sesshomaru's palace? She huffed irritably, rising up out of her nice comfy bed. InuYasha was certainly going to pay for making her get up at the crack of dawn. She wasn't a morning person usually, and at least with Sesshomaru, she had time to bath before her presence was required!

She noticed that Mai had lain out a fresh kimono for her, as well as for Shippo, she noted with slight surprise. She grabbed the clothes and dashed behind a screen so that she could change before she dashed out of the room, leaving Shippo still asleep. When she arrived at the eastern entrance, which is where all the damage had been done, she stepped over fallen beams and pieces of stone in order to see InuYasha arguing with a servant.

"If he's so great, why isn't he down here helping too, huh?" InuYasha demanded of the servant standing in front of him. "Is it too _early_ for _his greatness_ to be awake yet?" InuYasha sneered.

"InuYasha, sit!" Kagome exclaimed. "No one in the entire Western Lands could sleep with you screaming at the crack of dawn! You _will_ help clean up this mess that _you_ made. That's right, _you_. Not Sesshomaru, _you._ Sesshomaru is not your mother and you are not four years old, you can clean up your own messes. And if you've got a problem with that, then how about spending some time locked up in a dungeon somewhere, I'm sure Sesshomaru has some underground rooms or something."

"Kagome! What the hell was that for?" InuYasha forced himself up off of the ground after Kagome's uncalled-for sit command. He dusted himself off and then turned his attention towards Kagome, wrinkling his nose in distaste. "What are you _wearing_, Kagome? Honestly, you're taking clothes from him now too? What's gotten in to you? Why are you here anyway?"

"I am here, because unlike you, Sesshomaru seems to know how to act like a proper gentleman! Never once since I've been in his presence has he compared me to a dead priestess nor has he made me feel like a scrap of second hand clothes!" Kagome placed her hands on her hips as she marched up to InuYasha, glaring at him. "I always thought that you were so _noble_, ever the hero that would protect me from harm. Well you know what, InuYasha? Sesshomaru has more _nobility_ in his left pinky then you have in your entire body!"

InuYasha growled, narrowing his eyes at Kagome. "You must be joking! Sesshomaru is an evil bastard who only cares about himself and what he can get out of something! He's only using you!"

"At least Sesshomaru has never _lied_ to me! With him, I know exactly where I stand. With you, I never know what's going through your head. You tell me you love me but your actions say something a whole lot different!" Kagome was almost to the point of tears by this time in the argument, and InuYasha's next comment was only cut off by someone else making their presence known.

"I assure you that I _do_ have a dungeon where we could put the hanyou." The stoic response came from behind Kagome. Sesshomaru slowly moved forward, stopping beside of Kagome, though didn't bother to look down at her, giving her a moment to compose herself. He merely kept his attention on his half-brother. "You will clean up your mess and stop pitching tantrums. If you object, then by all means, this Sesshomaru has no issues over simply removing your head." He turned his attention to Kagome at this point. "Come with me, Kagome, I have much to discuss with you." With that, he turned away from the duo and moved back inside.

Kagome, wiping furiously at her cheeks with her sleeves to remove any evidence of her tears, didn't want Sesshomaru to see her being so stupid. She wasn't sure why she cared so much what Sesshomaru thought about her, she only knew that she didn't want to seem weak to the demon lord. She turned away from InuYasha with one last glare at him and made her way after Sesshomaru, though because his legs were so much longer than hers, she was practically jogging to keep up with him.

When they finally stopped, they were in a room that Kagome had never seen before. Though she'd only been there for a couple of days, so such a thing was not in the least surprising. What was surprising was the sight of shelves and shelves of scrolls and books. It could almost classify as a personal library in her time period. She looked as Sesshomaru moved towards what could only be his writing table and take a seat. She moved over to sit across from him, looking down at the floor. There was a moment of silence in which Kagome could feel Sesshomaru's eyes on her before the silence was broken.

"Why do you lower your gaze, Kagome?" Sesshomaru demanded, watching her intently. She was a miko. A very powerful one at that, she shouldn't be lowering her gaze to anyone. "A miko of your powers should not be looking down from anyone or anything. Your head should be held high, your power displayed. Lowering your gaze makes others think that you are weak."

Kagome slowly raised her gaze to meet the hard eyes of the demon lord across from her. "I'm sorry. I suppose it is just a habit. Where I come from, it is a sign of respect to lower your gaze to your elders and your superiors." And Sesshomaru was definitely both. She knew that he had exponentially more power than she herself did, and if he was older than InuYasha, who was much older than her, then Sesshomaru was most definitely her elder.

"Well don't do it anymore. This Sesshomaru does not waste his time and energy on weaklings." Sesshomaru watched her as she nodded. "Which brings me to the reason to which I have asked you here: this Sesshomaru wishes to court you."

Kagome remained silent for a moment, watching Sesshomaru. "Um, I'm sorry, what do you mean when you say you want to 'court me'? You want to take me to court?" Somehow, she doubted that court was anything now like it was in her timeline, but she wondered what on earth she could have done to warrant being 'courted'.

"No." Sesshomaru seemed almost puzzled by her reaction. Take her to court? Surely she didn't mean take her to meet the demon council. She was nowhere near ready for something like that. "I mean that I wish to court you, as a potential mate for myself."

Kagome's eyes widened slightly, watching Sesshomaru. Did – did Sesshomaru just ask her if she wanted to… date him?


	6. The Meaning of Courtship

_Kagome's eyes widened slightly, watching Sesshomaru. Did – did Sesshomaru just ask her if she wanted to… date him?_

Sesshomaru remained silent, wondering what could be going through the miko's head. He arched an eyebrow ever-so-slightly as the silence continued on. What, was he not good enough for her? She would go for half-breed rapists but not for demon lords? How the hell did _that_ work? "Kagome?"

Kagome shook her head as if coming out of a trance, pulling her gaze away from Sesshomaru. "Sorry, I was just surprised is all. I mean, don't you kind of hate humans? Why would you want to, um, what was the word?... court me?"

"I should think that would be obvious by now. Obviously, this Sesshomaru does not hate _all_ humans, otherwise Rin would not be here. As for why I want to court you, I should think that would be obvious as well. This Sesshomaru believes we would be very compatible and make very powerful pups together." Imagine, a pup with the strength and grace of all that Sesshomaru could bestow mixed with the power of a strong miko.

"Oh, so that's all, huh? Just because I'm a powerful priestess you think you can just decide that I am to marry you! You men are all alike! And if that's the payment for your hospitality, then I'll go camping in the woods!" Kagome exclaimed, rising to her feet and storming from the room, blinking back her furious tears. She refused to let herself cry again. Didn't that just figure? No one could be nice to her without wanting to put some kind of a claim on her! InuYasha, now Sesshomaru, and even Koga before he'd decided just to give up and mate with Ayame.

Sesshomaru had to admit he was rather shocked when Kagome exploded on him and stormed from the room. He had thought he'd provided her with a logical response. After all, that was the reason his father had mated with his own mother, InuKimi. Of course, perhaps humans were incapable of logical thought, was that why his father had never formally mated with InuYasha's mother? He was surprised at how much her rejection of his courtship upset him. He only wanted her for two reasons: 1) She was a powerful miko who would produce powerful pups, and 2) to get back at InuYasha. Of course, he wasn't going to reveal that second option to her.

Sango heard a noise from outside her room as she was getting dressed in her clothes. Though there had been a new kimono left out for her, she didn't feel right taking anything from Sesshomaru. She hated feeling like she owed him anything. She was going to help InuYasha and the others with the repairs to the palace and then she'd be glad to get out of this place. There were so many demons walking freely around here that it was making her skin crawl. Though at the sound of familiar footsteps passing her room, she peaked out to see Kagome's retreating back.

"Kagome!" She moved out of her room as Kagome turned to face her, though her cheeks were red and she looked upset about something. Sango frowned, moving towards her only real female friend. "Kagome, what's wrong?" she asked, frowning as she took Kagome's hand and tugged her into her bedroom. "Talk to me, what happened?"

"Men are just so stupid sometimes," Kagome blurted out, sitting on the edge of Sango's bed and covering her face. "First InuYasha and now Sesshomaru, they are both completely hopeless!" She shook her head rather violently, her hair cascading down around her face to hide her completely from Sango's vision.

"What did they do? Miroku and I were wondering what InuYasha had done to make you join up with Sesshomaru. So what happened?" Sango asked, a tone of concern laced through her voice as she sat beside of Kagome, gently touching her shoulder.

Kagome took a deep breath, letting her hands fall down into her lap and raised her gaze to look up at Sango. "InuYasha… he… well, we were going to… well… _you know_… and just as he was laying me back, he called me Kikyou. When I told him to stop, well, he wouldn't. Sesshomaru showed up and pulled him off of me, I still have some bruises and scratches from InuYasha's nails."

Sango's eyes were wide, her jaw hanging open. "He tried to _rape_ you?" she demanded. "Oh, by kami, I'm going to go and neuter that half-dog!" Sango got to her feet at that point in an outrage before it hit her that Kagome had said Sesshomaru had done something to. "What did Sesshomaru do?" She demanded roughly.

Kagome gave a one-shouldered shrug. "He said he wanted to court me, when I asked him why, he said it was because he thought I would give him powerful children. As if that's all I'm good for! Is just bearing children for him! He doesn't care about me, he doesn't even know me! And he expected me to just let him put a claim on me?"

Sango frowned, watching Kagome. "He asked to court you?"

Kagome merely nodded slightly at the other, looking at her hands in her lap, though she was surprised when Sango actually began to laugh.

"Kagome, that's not an insult to you! I mean, look at Miroku, now _that_ is an insult. It wasn't like he was asking you to bear his children right now. He's just asking for the opportunity to get to know you better on a personal level. Agreeing to let him court you isn't saying right now that you'll be with him, just that you will consider getting to know _him_ better." Sango giggled, placing a hand to her mouth. "So what did you tell him?"

Kagome watched Sango with a look of awe for a moment before blushing slightly. "Pretty much what I told you."

Sango winced sympathetically. "You probably insulted him, but then again, you don't really know a lot of the customs of this era, so maybe if you explain to him that you didn't understand…"

"Sango, this is Sesshomaru we're talking about. I'm lucky he didn't take my head off or something." Kagome sighed, resting one elbow on her knee then placing her chin in the palm of her hand. "I guess I should go apologize, huh?" She pushed herself up to her feet. "I mean, really, he's been uncharacteristically nice to me these past couple of days, I suppose that was a really bad way of showing my thanks." Another sigh as she moved towards the door. "Thanks, Sango, I-I'll see you outside later."

_'I can't believe she turned me down.'_ Sesshomaru was standing on the balcony of his study, staring out over the repairs being done. It would appear that one of his servants had convinced InuYasha to do his fill as he watched his half-brother clearing away parts of columns that had fallen to Tetsusaiga's Windscar. _'The nerve of her! I should track her down and demand her apology! To think, me, the great Lord Sesshomaru, brushed off by a human girl!' _Hands clasped behind his back, he vaguely heard the door to his study opening behind him. Thinking at first it was just Jaken, he remained stationary. Then her scent hit him. He bit back a growl as he turned to face Kagome.

Kagome looked at Sesshomaru standing on the balcony straight and tall. _'The way a nobleman would stand,'_ she thought faintly to herself before the demon male turned rapidly to face her. She blushed, fighting to keep herself from lowering her gaze from his intense stare. _'I wish he'd look away!'_ She couldn't force herself to break eye-contact with him. It was as if he were intentionally drawing her in.

"What do you want?" Sesshomaru's voice was the first to break the silence, as usual. His voice was colder than his usual monotone. So he was insulted, the thought caused Kagome to wince slightly.

"I-I came to apologize. I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier. I realize that it was very rude. I didn't know what you meant when you said you wanted to 'court' me," she said softly, wringing her hands nervously in front of her. She watched him, wondering vaguely if he would accept her apology or if he would attack her. She didn't think he was the type really for yelling but sometimes, that was worse.

Sesshomaru remained silent for a few moments longer, moving into the room slowly as he approached her. How did she not know what he'd meant? He'd known that she was an odd girl, but how could she not know? Of course, he knew that humans differed from demons but surely they didn't differ that much, did they? He watched her, focusing in on her face which was a lovely shade of pink, her heart was racing, and she seemed nervous. Why was she afraid of him? Had he not already proven multiple times that he wasn't about to hurt her?

He stopped his slow advance only a short distance away from her. Finally, she broke their eye contact and lowered her gaze. He narrowed his eyes, reaching up to grip her chin firmly, directing her gaze back up to him. "What are you trying to say, little miko?"

Kagome brought her lower lip into her mouth slowly as she looked up at him. So this was something similar to going out on a date, right? There was no real commitment? She wasn't ready for such a serious commitment yet, especially to Sesshomaru, not so soon after her heartache from InuYasha. She took a deep breath, steadying herself by focusing on the firm, yet surprisingly gentle, grip that Sesshomaru had on her chin.

"Lord Sesshomaru, would you give me the honor of having you court me?"


	7. Family is Everything

It took several days, even with so many demons helping out, to repair all the damages to the palace. During that time, Kagome was able to easily avoid spending any time around InuYasha. Sango was a good help with that, she was able to distract InuYasha away from Kagome whenever she was nearby helping out. However, that wasn't all that often, Sesshomaru tended to monopolize her time so that she was unable to help.

"They will be leaving here soon, won't they, Lord Sesshomaru?" Jaken was growing restless with the presence of InuYasha and his mortal comrades.

"I do not expect them to stay much longer, Jaken." Sesshomaru didn't bother looking up at Jaken as he continued writing on the scroll over his desk. He would be all the more relaxed once InuYasha was gone from this place and he was able to properly begin courting Kagome. While the repairs were going on, it had been difficult to get enough time with Kagome for his plan to come to fruition. At that moment, however, his thoughts were interrupted by shouting outside.

"What do you mean you're not coming with us?" InuYasha's voice seemed to just naturally carry over great distances. Sesshomaru sighed. He supposed he should have foreseen this little difficulty. But no matter, he would settle this disagreement in no time.

"Just what I said, I'm not coming with you! As if I would go with you after what you did to me? Ha, you're completely impossible, InuYasha!" Kagome crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly as InuYasha flexed his hands into fists. "I happen to like it here, so there."

"You would do well to listen to her, hanyou." Sesshomaru made his appearance from the newly rebuilt eastern entrance out into the gardens. "Kagome stays here."

"Like hell she is!" InuYasha declared and reached out, grabbing hold of Kagome's wrist and proceeded to pull Kagome towards the eastern gate, only to have Sango and Kirara in the way. "What are you two doing? Come on, Sango, you know she's better off with us then she is here!"

Then, however, Sesshomaru was between InuYasha and Sango, his eyes a violent shade of red as he held up his right hand, claws glowing a faint greenish hue due to the poisonous miasma. "Release her, hanyou, now. Can you not smell her blood? You are hurting her."

InuYasha looked back to his hand wrapped around Kagome's wrist to note that his claws had dug into her skin. He released her rapidly, staring at his hand in horror as if it had betrayed him. "K-Kagome, I-I…" He looked up at her as she moved away from him, holding her wrist and hiding herself behind Sesshomaru. She was taking refuge behind his enemy, _their_ enemy, all because she was afraid of him. He seemed to realize at this point that Kagome was not going to forgive him this time. "Kagome…"

"Your debt to me is repaid, hanyou, you will leave." Sesshomaru's words brought InuYasha's attention back to his half-brother. Sesshomaru's eyes were back to their normal amber color and he was standing stiffly in front of Kagome, not seeming to notice or care about the fact that Kagome was holding onto his arm while peering at InuYasha.

"This isn't over Kagome, you've got to come back sometime. You can't stay here forever. You won't be able to stand Sesshomaru for very long." With that, InuYasha tucked his hands into his sleeves. "Let's go, guys." With that, the half-demon moved out of the gate, fully expecting Miroku, Sango, and Shippo to follow along.

"Kagome, don't make me go back with InuYasha! Without you around who will stop him from picking on me?" Shippo complained as Kagome straightened herself.

"Aw, Shippo, I…" She looked towards Sesshomaru, meeting his eyes pleadingly. "Can Shippo stay here, Sesshomaru? Please? I'm the closest thing he has to a mother, and InuYasha does abuse him something fierce." She bit her lower lip nervously, wondering if Sesshomaru would agree. "He'd make a great playmate for Rin, they're around the same age and I think they'd get along great together. Think how happy Rin would be to have someone her own age to play with." There, maybe that would help things a bit.

Sesshomaru looked at the kitsune that was perched on Kagome's shoulder, seeming to size him up. Well, at least he was a full demon. Perhaps he should take his good luck that she wasn't asking to let one of the other humans to stay. The servants were already getting antsy having both Rin and Kagome present in the palace.

"Very well, he may stay. I will have the servants arrange for a more permanent room." Sesshomaru glanced towards the sky. "Dinner will be served as normal tonight, I expect you both dressed properly and on time," he stated before turning and moving inside once more.

Kagome grinned slightly, looking to Shippo. "Hear that? You get to stay!" She was exceptionally happy because that had been much more painless than she had thought it would be. She turned to wrap Sango into a hug and smiled. "Come visit soon, kay? And remember, you can't get married without me!" She whispered enthusiastically.

Sango nodded with a smile before climbing onto Kirara's back along with Miroku. Already, InuYasha had quite a bit of a lead on the two of them, so they set off quickly, leaving Kagome and Shippo alone in the garden.

"Come on, let's go figure out where they've got you set up," Kagome stated to Shippo. With that, they headed into the palace to get ready for dinner.

"Lady Kagome, before you turn in for the night, Lord Sesshomaru wishes to see you." Mai's voice was clear, yet uncertain as Kagome walked back to her room from making sure that Shippo and Rin were both tucked in nice and warm. Kagome nodded slightly, turning towards the direction of Sesshomaru's study. Dinner had certainly been interesting, at least Shippo was more accustomed to those unwritten demon laws, like how the alpha was supposed to be the first to eat, explaining why no one was to touch their food before Sesshomaru.

Arriving at Sesshomaru's study, Kagome paused, rapping her knuckles against the wood panels and waited. When Sesshomaru bid her to enter, she stepped into the room and closed the door before moving to stand off to the side as she watched Sesshomaru. He had removed the outer layer of his kimono that he'd worn to dinner, wearing only the thinner under layer which exposed just a bit of his upper chest. The sight revealed that Sesshomaru had quite a muscular torso, which Kagome figured had to be somewhat obvious now that she thought about it.

"You wanted to see me?" Her tone was questioning as she watched Sesshomaru step around his desk and move towards her.

"Yes. I did." Sesshomaru stopped in front of her and couldn't help notice that Kagome's eyes were staring rather fixatedly at the exposed portion of his chest. He reached out, once again gripping her chin and turning her head upwards towards his own. "I was watching you tonight with the children. I wanted you to know that I thought you were a natural." Watching her with Rin and Shippo had distracted him through most of dinner, making games out of eating. While it wasn't something he generally approved of, he had to admit that Rin had eaten far more vegetables tonight then she ever had before when Kagome had made it into a game.

Kagome shrugged slightly, fighting back a blush at Sesshomaru's touch and failing rather miserably. "I'm used to looking out for kids. I have a younger brother named Souta." She smiled faintly at the memory of her younger brother who so idolized InuYasha. She wondered what he would think if he knew what kind of jerk InuYasha really was. She missed him. At this point, she didn't even know if she could get back through the well to get home. She hadn't tried since the Shikon Jewel had disappeared.

Sesshomaru could sense the change in Kagome's emotions as he watched her. Tilting his head, he released her chin and let his hand fall to his side. "You miss him." It wasn't a question, more of an observation. She spoke fondly of her brother. It was something that he himself was unfamiliar with. While there were times when he did certain things to ensure that InuYasha reacted a specific way, he didn't have any love for the half-demon. He simply didn't want shame to be brought to his father's honor because of how inadequate InuYasha really was.

Kagome gave a faint nod. "I do. Sometimes I wonder if I will really ever see him or the rest of my family again." Maybe that was why she was so reluctant to completely cut InuYasha out of her life. He, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo might well be the only family that she had left. Even after what InuYasha had done to her, she wasn't willing to completely sever ties with him. "Family is important to me. It always has been."

In that moment, Sesshomaru knew he had chosen right in who he would court to be his mate. Kagome was as loyal as any canine could be to family. She would be a good mother with the strength to protect her young, a feature that was essential for someone like him who tended to make a lot of enemies. He couldn't always be around to protect his young, and he didn't want some weakling who would be the death of himself and his family because she could not protect herself. This girl had taken out Naraku, she could fight.

Kagome looked up at Sesshomaru, frowning slightly as she watched him. A change had come over him, though she couldn't exactly place how or why she knew it, she just did. His eyes were still locked on her, and though he hadn't said anything, she could practically see the wheels turning behind his eyes. She frowned, watching him questioningly.

"What is it, Sesshomaru?"

Sesshomaru shrugged slightly, still watching her carefully. "I was just thinking that the decision to court you was probably the best decision that this Sesshomaru has had in a good long while." With that, he reached up with one hand, cupping the back of Kagome's head and leaned down, pressing their lips together in their first kiss.


	8. At last claimed

**WARNING: Chapter Contains Lemon!**

_With that, [Sesshomaru] reached up with one hand, cupping the back of Kagome's head and leaned down, pressing their lips together in their first kiss._

To say that Kagome was surprised at Sesshomaru's actions would be something of an understatement. She stood before Sesshomaru, her heart racing so much that Kagome feared it would burst. The kiss was different from those she had shared or stolen with InuYasha. Sesshomaru was forceful, yet gentle all at the same time, exerting his dominance without hurting her. She closed her eyes, her arms slowly moving up to wrap around Sesshomaru's neck. Feeling his hard, muscular chest against her only seemed to spur her on.

Sesshomaru was exceptionally glad of Kagome's reaction to his kiss as his free hand moved around her waist, lifting her slighter form against his own so that he did not have to lean over so far. It amazed him that there was such power in such a small form. How could one tiny human have such an effect on him? Over the past few days as he'd been watching Kagome moving around helping out with the repairs where she could, even healing minor injuries that had occurred in the fight, Sesshomaru had begun to see her as something more than a simple conquest.

He forced himself to pull away from the kiss, wanting nothing more than to devour her mouth again, explore the wet cavern with his tongue and feel her body pressed against his own. He closed his eyes slightly, stepping away from him, her scent was stronger now, filled with the scent of her arousal, and it drove the beast within him mad. It wanted nothing more than to be allowed free to ravish the beautiful miko before him. He raised his eyes, his intense gaze capturing that of the blushing girl before him.

Kagome's hand came to her chest to rest over her heart as Sesshomaru pulled away from her as if her grip could slow her pounding heart. The heat from Sesshomaru's body seemed to have seeped into every part of her body, from her fingers to her toes. It was overwhelming, never before had she felt such intensity. Beneath his stare, it only seemed to grow, flushing her face and causing her heartbeat to continue to beat erratically. Why wouldn't he look away? There was a deep-seated ache within Kagome as she watched him.

"Sess… Sesshomaru…" she whispered, taking a step towards him where he'd backed away from her again. She'd learned over the past few days that the cold and heartless bastard that InuYasha despised was only a front for Sesshomaru. Watching him with Rin the previous day when she'd fallen over a fallen rock had been positively adorable.

Sesshomaru had been helping to lift a newly constructed column when she had cried out in pain. He'd literally dropped what he'd been doing and had been at her side in a manner of seconds. It had only been a scraped knee, but Sesshomaru himself had applied the herbs to the cut to draw out the sting to stop Rin's tears.

The memory of his tenderness only served to fuel her desire for him. She raised her hand away from her own chest to rest against Sesshomaru's own. Her fingers lightly touched the exposed skin of his chest as she looked up at him. "Sesshomaru… won't you please… kiss me again?"

Sesshomaru found his control wavering as he felt Kagome's touch. He looked down upon her, eyes fixated on her soft full lips as she asked him to kiss her again. Well who was he to deny her such a request when he himself wanted it as well? Since when did he hesitate to take that which he desired? Leaning in quickly, he pressed his lips against hers once more, pulling her form snug against his own once more. He felt her arms come around him once more.

Dragging his tongue across her lower lip, he pushed his tongue past flesh and teeth to conquer the warm cavern of Kagome's mouth. His grip tightened slightly as his beast flashed to the forefront once again. It wanted to claim her, to show her to whom she belonged. He pulled away from her once more, though this time, he was not able to force himself back away from her. He closed his eyes, lowering his head to inhale her scent from her hair. He gave a low growl, pulling away to look down at her, eyes flashing from amber to red and back again.

Kagome looked up at Sesshomaru as he pulled away, letting out a soft gasp as she watched his eyes flare. "Se-Sesshomaru?" There was a hint of fear laced through her voice. After all, the only time she'd ever seen his eyes turn color was in his first fight with InuYasha over the Tetsusaiga. "Have I done something wrong?"

"No," he replied as Sesshomaru slowly released Kagome, as if moving each digit were an act of extreme difficulty. "However, if you wish to maintain your innocence for much longer, you should probably depart from the presence of this Sesshomaru until morning."

Kagome frowned slightly. Maintain her innocence? Did he mean…? Her eyes widened as she realized what he meant. Whenever InuYasha had been aroused, his eyes had flashed in a similar fashion, as shown by the night InuYasha had thought to take her as his Mate. Kagome blushed furiously, lowering her eyes for a moment as she closed her eyes and bit her lip. After a moment which seemed like hours to her, she looked back up at Sesshomaru, who was still staring at her intently, his hands clenched into fists at his side.

She stepped forward slowly against him once more. "What if I don't wish to maintain my innocence for much longer?" she asked softly. After all, why shouldn't she be with Sesshomaru? Never once had he really intentionally hurt her. Even before he had asked to court her, the attacks upon her had usually been backlash from an attack aimed at InuYasha or self-defense. He had been kind to her, and had made it clear that he, unlike InuYasha, would not take her by force.

Sesshomaru growled fiercely, eyes flashing once more before he looked around, nails biting into the palm of his hand. "Not here," he growled, looking back to her. With that, he scooped her up bridal style and moved to the door quickly. Before Kagome could really get her bearings as to where she was, she was being placed onto her feet in the most immaculate bedroom she had ever since in this era and Sesshomaru was several feet away from her, staring at her intently. "Are you sure about this, Kagome?" he demanded. He wasn't entirely 100% ready to Mark her yet… he still had other arrangements to be made, but he could claim her. There was nothing stopping him from that.

Kagome held her hands at her side as she watched him. The fact that even though she knew that he must want to do this and was still leaving the decision with her is what sealed the deal. She stepped forward slowly, giving one nod, and reaching up to slowly pull open the top of his outfit, revealing even more of the beautifully sculpted chest caused her heartbeat to race once again.

**~ ~ LEMON ~ ~**

Human speed wasn't fast enough for the beast within him as he felt Kagome touching his skin. Before Kagome could even blink, he reached out, claws lightly cutting at the sash which held her kimono closed until it fell open. As it did, Sesshomaru half-expected Kagome to grasp at the fabric in an attempt to keep her body covered.

She did not.

It did not, however, keep her body from being completely exposed to him. Sesshomaru frowned as he reached out, hooking a finger in the center of some sort of contraption which concealed her breasts from him. "What is this?" he demanded, his voice low, barely above a growl as he fought to contain his lust. "Some sort of chastity device?" For it was all he could think of considering there was something of the same fabric and color concealing her lower treasures to him as well.

Kagome was still blushing, and she couldn't help but think that by now she probably was putting a ripe tomato to shame. She closed her eyes as Sesshomaru reached out toward her naked form before she felt him tugging on her bra. She looked down at his finger hooked in her bra. She smiled, letting out a soft, if nervous, giggle. "No, it's a brazier. It helps give me… um… you know… support." She reached up, letting her kimono fall to the ground with much more courage then she actually felt and reached behind her to unhook the stretchy fabric. Sliding it off of her arms as well, she let it drop on top of the kimono.

She looked back up at Sesshomaru then, feeling exceptionally exposed in front of this demon that she'd spent quite a long time thinking of as a complete jerk. She watched his eyes move over her form and come to rest on her hips and she looked down, noticing that she was still wearing her panties. Biting her lip again, she removed them, now completely exposed before Sesshomaru's eyes. She closed her eyes. _Please, please let him not be disgusted by me._ She wasn't sure why, but the way he was staring at her made her very uncomfortable. Did he not find her attractive without her clothes on?

She heard a faint sound in front of her and as she opened her eyes, she noticed that Sesshomaru had completely removed the remainder of his own clothes and stood before her completely naked. If possible, she blushed even brighter, taking in his absolutely gorgeous muscular chest and six pack. Though as her eyes moved lower, they widened considerably as they noticed the size of his erection.

There was no way that was going to fit! Suddenly, she found herself even more wary of doing this than she had been before. However before Kagome had time to voice her concerns, she was being pushed back onto the bed. Suddenly there was a warm, wet heat on one of her breasts while the other was wrapped in long, strong fingers. She looked down to see that Sesshomaru had taken one of her nipples into his mouth, his eyes were closed, and the hand not supporting his weight over her was massaging the neglected mound of flesh that was her other breast.

As she watched him, she bit her lip slightly, fighting the urge to close her eyes and arch her chest up against the male atop her as she held her weight on her elbows. When Sesshomaru released her nipple, his eyes opened and he looked up at her, revealing that his gaze was once a feral red. He moved up her body quickly, crushing their lips together with a passion that Kagome attempted to return, pressing her form up against him and was so taken in by his lips that she failed to notice that his hand had vacated her breast.

That is, until she felt his hand moving between her legs. She gasped, stealing the breath from the demon above her as he pulled away from the kiss and stared down at her as he used his hand to part her thighs, urging them apart as he pushed himself back slightly, now using both hands to bend her knees as he lowered himself, kissing her inner thigh before he moved down, taking her into his mouth. He gave a low growl at finally tasting the scent which had been teasing him all night.

Kagome gasped, falling back against the bed with a soft cry as Sesshomaru's tongue assaulted the bundle of nerves located between the lips of her core. Of course, that feeling was nothing compared to that which occurred when he thrust two fingers into her channel, causing her eyes to close as she bit her lip again and moaned, her chest arching up off of the bed.

"Oh… kami, Sesshomaru!" she exclaimed, her hands moving down towards his head before she hesitated. What if he didn't want his hair pulled? She bit her lip and whined before bringing her hands up to tangle into her own hair in an attempt to keep them occupied. She groaned, her entire body tense as she lifted her legs as if to close them, though Sesshomaru's hands quickly pressed to either thigh as he growled.

"Keep your legs open unless you mean to reject me," he growled, narrowing his eyes slightly. He watched as she gave him another nod and he moved up over her form once more, laying his body against hers, though one hand continued to hold his weight over her so that he didn't crush her. He was fighting to keep a tight hold on his beast which wanted nothing more than to pound into her ruthlessly and make her scream out his name, but he knew that she was still pure. He had no need to injure her.

Kagome looked up at him, closing her eyes under her intense stare before he growled, forcing her to open her eyes again to see what he was growling about. She bit her lower lip as she felt his substantial length pressing against her core and closed her eyes again.

"No. Keep your eyes open. I want to see you when I enter you," Sesshomaru ordered, watching her eyes snap open again before he thrust his length into her, fighting to keep his own eyes opened as he was assaulted by her tight, wet heat. She cried out in pain as he broke through her inner barrier and he leaned in, swallowing her cry into his mouth as he paused, allowing her to become accustomed to his girth. When she bucked her hips up against him, he began to move within her. He started off slow at first, though as he pulled from the kiss to trail his lips down her jaw to her throat and chest, she whined, bucking against him.

"Please, Sesshomaru… please, go faster!" Kagome pleaded, her hands gripping his shoulders at this point, not realizing that her nails were digging into his flesh. She groaned, arching against him and wrapping her legs around his thighs in an attempt to help better the angle to get him into her deeper. Now that the pain was subsiding, she was finding herself nearly overwhelmed with pleasure.

Sesshomaru could do nothing more than obey, his beast finally breaking through his tight control as he began to thrust into her with wild abandon, the only sounds in the room beyond her moans and his growls were the sound of skin on skin as their bodies slid together in unison. He felt her clenching around him and heard her cry as her first orgasm claimed her. Her scent only intensified at this moment and he lost any further control he may have had as his beast took over, his fangs and claws lengthening, his eyes a fixed shade of blood red as he claimed the human female beneath him.

When he finally allowed himself release, it was only after he had felt Kagome clenching around him a second time. Only then did he allow himself to empty himself within her with a growl. "Fuck, Kagome," he growled fiercely as he rocked against her, milking up the last of her release and his, pulling back as he heard Kagome whimper slightly as he touched her over-sensitive core.

With that, he lay back onto his bed, his eyes slowly bleeding back to amber as his fangs and claws retracted and he reached over, pulling Kagome's flushed form against his own, a thin sheen of sweat coating their bodies. They would definitely need to bath tomorrow, was the passing thought running through Sesshomaru's head before he allowed himself to follow Kagome into unconsciousness.

* * *

**A/N: Alright, this chapter ran away from me a little bit, the longest one yet, but I do hope that to my loyal followers who have been waiting for this, they enjoyed it!**


	9. The morning after

When Kagome woke up the next morning, she was feeling rather sore but pleasantly content for some reason that she couldn't explain. There was an unfamiliar weight resting on top of her though and she shifted, noting that there was an arm tossed over her waist. Looking down, she noticed the longer nails and the two magenta stripes starting over the hand and curving back over the arm. Reaching down, she lightly rested her hand on Sesshomaru's arm. It was odd, because though she was completely naked, and had honestly never been so vulnerable in this era, she had never felt safer.

Something about the knowledge that Sesshomaru would protect her from the dangers of the world when she needed it seemed to comfort her. She shifted slightly, wincing as she noticed that her legs were rather sticky from the previous night's excursions. However, as she shifted, the arm draped lazily over her tightened slightly, tugging her back against a firm chest before she felt lips against her bare shoulder followed by a pair of fangs lightly dragging over the same skin.

"Happy rising, Kagome," Sesshomaru stated softly, his voice surprising the young girl in his arms. She wasn't surprised that she had woken him just by moving, InuYasha had always been over-sensitive to her movements, so why shouldn't Sesshomaru be more-so as a full demon? No, what surprised her was the tone in his voice. One would have thought that he had not just taken her virginity the night before.

Kagome shifted, sitting up slowly and looking down at him curiously with a hint of hurt on her features. "Happy rising?" she asked softly. "Is that all you've got to say to me?"

Sesshomaru pushed himself up as well, watching her for a moment, eyebrows knitted slightly. "Was there something else I was supposed to say?" He didn't seem to understand what Kagome was insinuating and was even more surprised when Kagome got up from the bed and immediately grabbed hold of her kimono from the floor. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, excuse me! Were you not _finished_ with me yet since apparently last night meant absolutely _nothing_ to you?" Kagome demanded angrily as she fought back tears. Had he only taken advantage of her last night because he had been a little horny? She had thought that only the men of her own time were that shallow! With the exception of Miroku, of course. She rubbed her sleeve against her cheeks as she grabbed her bra and panties and held her kimono closed as she moved toward the door only to be confronted by a six foot, three inch naked demon lord. "Move."

Sesshomaru did not, of course, move when Kagome ordered him to do so. He reached up, gripping her chin and forcing her gaze upward again. "Will you stop it and tell me what is wrong?" It was more of a plea than an order, though when stated in his usual monotonous tone it could simply have been a demand.

Kagome pulled her chin away from Sesshomaru, taking a step back away from him. "I just can't believe that I thought you were different than every other guy that I've known my whole life!" She shook her head. "You act like what happened last night was nothing! Like it was just any other old night, how could you be so insensitive?" She lowered her head into her hands as she tried to hide that she was all out crying at this point. By kami, she was so sick of crying over jerk-face _dogs_!

Sesshomaru watched her for a moment before gripping her wrists and pulling them away from her face. "Stop." He watched her until she raised her gaze up to him. "I apologize if I offended you, Kagome. It's not as if I make a habit of sleeping with pretty human girls, I did not realize there was… proper etiquette for waking up."

All he'd done was wish her a happy rising! How was that being insensitive? He didn't know why those two simple words had caused this emotional human female to leak from the face. "Won't you come to the hot springs with me and get cleaned up?" After all, having her walk through the palace smelling of sex and blood would hardly be conducive to his plans to have her as his mate.

Kagome looked up at him, trying not to let the fact that he had insulted her overcome her and make her attempt to flee once more. He _had_ apologized, even if that apology was atrocious. Of course, what more could she expect from Sesshomaru? She had a feeling that he didn't make apologies very often, so of course when he did, he tried to make it sound like he was apologizing for the other party's misunderstanding. It was like he was apologizing for her. But wait, had he just called her pretty? She blushed slightly before shaking her head.

"You're not very good at the whole apology thing, are you?" she asked softly, looking up at him as he released her wrists finally.

Sesshomaru watched her for a moment, eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly. "No, I do not make a habit of apologizing for anything. But, seeing as how I am courting you to be my mate, I figured that I should make the attempt." In fact, that was the first time he had ever apologized for anything in his life. Apologizing made one seem weak, but Sesshomaru didn't think that Kagome was going to go around parading his weakness in front of the kamis and everyone else. Besides, even if she did try to tell someone that he had apologized to her, who would believe her?

"If you do not wish to join me in the hot springs, then I suggest returning to your own room, there will at least be fresh clothing for you there," he replied matter-of-factly and he shifted away from the other and to the hot springs attached to his own room in order to bathe.

Kagome stared after Sesshomaru and shook her head slightly. She wasn't ready to forgive him completely yet. He _had_ insulted her, and the best thing to do if she didn't want to blow up when he said something insensitive again was to put some distance between the two of them. Well, at least it was over with, with all honesty, and she had survived it. Collecting her kimono against herself again, muttering darkly to herself about Sesshomaru's claws having cut through her sash, she moved from his room and quickly to her own.

She closed the door behind her, leaning against it and closed her eyes. She wasn't a virgin anymore. It was hard to believe, in all honesty. She sighed, moving to her own personal hot springs to bath, wincing slightly at a spark of pain when the water touched her more sensitive parts and found herself washing her body quickly. She didn't remain to soak as she normally would and made her way back into the bedroom and towards the small closet and opened it to reveal a good amount of clean kimonos.

Dressing quickly, she was combing through her hair with her fingers in front of the mirror in her room when there was a knock on the door. She rose, opening the door and smiled brightly. "Mai! Good morning," she stated, leaving the door open before moving back to the mirror to try and straighten her hair out again. She really needed to go and get her bag from Kaede's village where Sango said they had left it while looking for her. She needed a real brush!

"I… Lady Kagome…" Mai moved into her room slowly after being assaulted by Kagome's new scent. There was a hint of Lord Sesshomaru's scent laced with Kagome's now, and she wondered why Kagome was in her room if she and Lord Sesshomaru had decided to be together. But then again, she saw no mating Mark, nor was Lord Sesshomaru's scent overpowering on Kagome. She shook her head when she realized Kagome was watching her. "Lord Sesshomaru sent me to see what was taking so long, you're late for breakfast."

Kagome sighed softly, shaking her head. "It's not like he can't eat without me. Tell him I'll be there when I'm there." She wasn't going anywhere until she could tame her hair! There was no way she could show her face in public with her hair all in knots! She could have whined at the injustice of it all.

"I-I can't say that to him! He's the Lord of the West! Please, Lady Kagome, just please try and hurry down there!" she pleaded simply before moving out of the room and closing the door.

Kagome shook her head slightly. Why was everyone so afraid of Sesshomaru again? Okay sure, he was a powerful demon lord but honestly! So afraid that they can't tell him to eat without her? She sighed, staring at herself in the mirror before reaching down and picking up the chopsticks she'd previously used for her hair and twisted her hair up off of her neck and moved out of the room.

When she arrived in the dining hall, she was greeted by the two children and a cold look from Sesshomaru. "What?" she demanded of him as she took her seat to his right.

"You're late."

"And your point is? I was trying to fix my hair, which is exceptionally difficult without my usual hair care products!" Like her shampoo and conditioner or her hair spray or her _brush_. "I need to go to Kaede's village and get my things if you expect me to look good without me having to spend hours having to resort to primitive measures to do so." With that, she looked down to her plate and picked up her chopsticks and began to eat without waiting for Sesshomaru, causing both children across from her to stare at her in shock.

Sesshomaru was also staring at her, his expressionless face seeming even colder than usual. He stood at this point, reaching down to grab hold of Kagome by the back of her neck and proceeded to drag her from the room into the entrance hall and then shoved her back against a wall. He narrowed his eyes, standing mere inches from her and effectively blocking her escape.

"I will not claim to understand the complexities of human emotion or actions, however, while in my home you _will_ show me the proper respect owed to me. I get that you're upset over what happened this morning, though I don't understand _why_. You made a conscious choice last night to be with me, and this morning I did _nothing_ to warrant your anger." His voice and facial features remained steady, though his eyes betrayed his stoicism and she could see that though he would never admit it, he was deeply insulted by what had occurred. Maybe even hurt or upset.

Kagome raised her hands, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched Sesshomaru. She was still upset over his cool attitude that morning, sure, but… maybe she _was_ being a bit overdramatic about the whole thing. She sighed softly, lowering her gaze slightly at this point.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, not wanting to look up at Sesshomaru. "But this morning you were acting like what happened last night was nothing! How was that supposed to make me feel?"

Sesshomaru watched her, taking a step away from the miko before him as he felt her aura flare up. How interesting, whenever she was in an emotional state, her aura seemed to magnify. He might be able to use that to his advantage at a later point in time.

"I do not know how you expected this Sesshomaru to act this morning." He was a demon, it wasn't as if he was used to emotional human responses. To a demon, sex was a physical act to placate the beast and mating urges. He knew, however, from the reaction that Kagome had given him before the act that it meant something different to humans. Why did humans have to be so complicated? "I suggest, however, that you figure it out. Perhaps some time alone will aid in your endeavor. You mentioned needing to go to a village to get your personal belongings. Take Ah-Un. I will watch over the children."

He moved away from Kagome at that point and back to the dining hall, and after a few minutes, he glanced to the window to see the receding form of Ah-Un in the sky and knew that Kagome had taken his advice and he turned to the children. "Kagome has gone to retrieve her belongings. In the meantime, you will remain here." He looked to Shippo at this point. "I believe you are old enough to begin training in the form of battle, we shall begin after you have finished eating." With that, he began eating his own food in front of him as if nothing had happened or changed.

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A/N: This is just mainly a filler chapter, there will be a bit more action in the next update, I promise. I'd also like to thank everyone who has been reading and reviewing my fic. Keep the reviews coming!


	10. Away from the palace

"My lord, sources say that the priestess has left the Western lands on the back of a two-headed dragon. They were headed in the direction of the priestess's village in the East!" The voice came from a guard who was kneeling down before a screen that hid the one that the guard was talking to from view.

"Excellent. Send out the best troops immediately and take her before she can return to the West."

"Yes, my lord!" With that, the guard rose to his feet to see that his master's orders were obeyed.

Kagome was surprised at how quickly she got to Kaede's village. Even so, she had nothing better to do during the journey then think about what Sesshomaru had said. As she thought about it, she had started to acknowledge that maybe she shouldn't have been so rude, especially in front of the children. But that didn't make her feel all that much better. When Ah-Un landed, she slowly slid down off of his back.

"You can wait here, Ah-Un. I'll call for you when I'm ready to leave," she stated, smiling when they nodded to her and proceeded to walk to a tree and lay down in the shade and she turned to walk into the village proper, moving through familiar pathways to Kaede's hut, pushing aside the blind covering the doorway and stepping inside. "Kaede?" she called out, smiling as she noticed the elder woman sitting before her fire pit. "Hello, Kaede," she stated, sitting down before her.

"Kagome! I expected you to return with the others after Naraku's defeat. Where have ye been, child?" Kaede asked as she looked up at Kagome. She ladled some of the stew she had been making into two bowls and offered one to Kagome. "Here, ye must be hungry, child."

Kagome smiled, reaching out to take the bowl and placed it to her lips, sipping lightly at the broth. "Thank you, Kaede! You're right, I was hungry. I had to leave Sesshomaru's palace without finishing my breakfast." She smiled, rather pleased with the lack of formalities here.

"So it is true! Ye _have_ been with Sesshomaru. Miroku and Sango said that you had taken up with InuYasha's brother the last time that they were here." Kaede seemed surprised that what Miroku and Sango had said was indeed a fact. "Why have ye decided to join with Sesshomaru?" The last she had heard, Sesshomaru had been considered an enemy.

Kagome shrugged slightly as she sipped on her stew. "Sesshomaru saved me from… something really bad, and offered to let me come to his palace to clean up a bit." She gave another half-hearted shrug. "He treats me better than InuYasha ever did," she added as somewhat of an afterthought. "Except he's totally an insensitive jerk." She nodded matter-of-factly.

"What do ye mean? Why do ye compare InuYasha and Sesshomaru?" Kaede sipped at her own bowl of stew as she watched Kagome.

"Well, Sesshomaru is kind of… courting me as a potential mate," Kagome told her, sporting a nervous smile as she simply tried to brush it off. "It's no big deal, really." Except it was. Already she had seen more of Sesshomaru then she had ever thought possible. He wasn't the horrible demon that InuYasha had always led her and the others to believe. She stared down into the bowl in her grip and sighed.

"Ye mean to say that Sesshomaru wants to marry ye?" Kaede could not hide the shock from her voice as she watched Kagome, her stew in her bowl forgotten for the moment as she wondered what could be going through Kagome's mind. "What did InuYasha have to say about this then?"

"Who cares what InuYasha has to say about anything? I know that I certainly don't care what that jerk has to say about it," Kagome huffed, glaring down at the stew as if it had been the thing which offended her.

"Oh my, did ye two have a fight again?" Was this what Sango had meant when she said that she did not think that Kagome was going to be as forgiving of InuYasha as she had been before? What had this child gotten herself into?

Kagome huffed, setting down her half-eaten bowl of stew and crossing her arms over her chest. "No, he's just an immature jerk-face who doesn't know how to act like a grown up, that's all." She sighed, shaking her head slightly. He wasn't at all like Sesshomaru, who in addition to being strong was mature and able to hold a full conversation without lying to her about something or other. Or keeping something from her.

"I actually just came for my things, Kaede, but thanks for the stew, it was really good." She rose, moving towards her yellow bag in the corner of the little hut and tossing it over her shoulder. She picked up her bow and shift of arrows then, draping both over her shoulder as well. "Tell Miroku and Sango I said hey next time you see them, kay?" She smiled brightly before she moved out of the hut completely and headed to the edge of the village where she had left Ah-Un.

Lost in her thoughts as she walked, Kagome reached the outskirts of the village in no time at all. She looked around, glancing to the tree that Ah-Un had lain under and found that he was not there. She sighed at this revelation. It looked like she was going to have to look for the dragon after all. She walked down the road a bit more, away from the village. "Ah-Un?" she called out, placing a hand cupped to the side of her mouth to help her voice carry. "Ah-Un?" Nothing.

Kagome frowned, wondering where Ah-Un had gotten to, she hadn't thought he would run off and leave her behind. What if he'd returned back to the palace? She sighed, hanging her head slightly. "Just my luck." She stopped in the middle of the road, turning her attention skyward. "Ah-Un, where are you?" Though right at that moment was when it happened.

Kagome let out a scream as she was attacked from behind and forced to the ground. "Hey! Let me go! What are you doing?" She demanded of her captors as her bow and arrows were ripped away from her as well as her bag. "Get off me!" Though two of them were pulling her to her feet and tying her wrists behind her back.

"Get her on one of the horses," one of the men stated and the two wrestled Kagome onto one of the horses and then one climbed up behind her. "Alright, we have what we came for, let's go."

Leaving the bow, arrows, and yellow bag on the side of the road, the horsemen took off at a full gallop back to where they had come from. The man riding behind Kagome, in attempting to keep her cooperative, pulled out a sword and putting it against her chin as he held the reins to his horse in the other. "We were never told to bring you back in one piece, so you might as well just behave priestess."

Kagome gave a soft cry as she leaned forward against the neck of the horse, wondering what was going on. What had happened to Ah-Un? Had these men done something to them? Where were they taking her? Worst of all, there wasn't anyone who would be looking for her and now she was completely unarmed. This just wasn't her day!

The ride took several hours before they came upon a rather large palace, not unlike the one Sesshomaru owned. The horsemen came up to a stable and dismounted, dragging her down from atop the steed as they dragged her inside.

"Let me go! You're going to pay for this! When my friends find out what you've done, you'll be in for it!" Kagome shouted, struggling against her captors. Well, that is, if her friends ever did find out. Would Sesshomaru get worried when she didn't come back in a couple of days? Would he think that she'd just taken off on him? But no, he wouldn't, he would know something was up when Ah-Un didn't come back, wouldn't he? Would he figure out where they had gone? By the time he found out, their trail might be too old to follow. No, she was probably all on her own.

She set her resolve as she was dragged through the hallways of the palace and brought into a greeting room and thrust down to her knees. Well that wasn't very nice.

"We got her, my lord. We got the priestess who defeated the hanyou, Naraku." It was the guard to her right which spoke, and Kagome raised her head to see who they were talking to. Wait, wasn't that-?

"Lord Akinori? Is this the priestess that you were searching for?"

The demon lord slowly got to his feet and approached the trio, stopping in front of Kagome as he reached down, gripping her chin with bruising force and forced her gaze up to his own. He smirked broadly, revealing his demon fangs.

"Yes, she is the one. Take her to my chambers."

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A/N: Thanks for all who have reviewed and read my story! Hope you enjoy it!


	11. Knight in Shining Armor

"Lord Sesshomaru! Lord Sesshomaru!"

Sesshomaru sighed, looking up from the scroll he'd been reading. "What is it, Jaken? Is the world ending?" Again.

"Milord, Ah-Un has just returned and they are injured! But the human is not with them!" Jaken exclaimed, gripping the staff of two heads tightly as he stared at his master fearfully. He cringed, whimpering a bit as Sesshomaru's eyes flashed red as he got to his feet almost immediately.

Sesshomaru's gaze drifted to the window. It was just past sunset, there was still a faint bit of light in the sky, but it would not last long. He had not realized how late it had become. He inhaled slowly, regaining his composure over the beast within him which had instantly risen to the forefront of his mind upon realizing that Kagome was in trouble.

"You will stay here with the children. Protect them at all costs." He moved towards the door, brushing past Jaken before pausing and turning to look at him. "And Jaken, should this Sesshomaru return and there is but one single mark on either of those children, I will hold you personally responsible." He then turned and left the room.

"Y-yes, Lord Sesshomaru." _Why is it always me that is on babysitting duty?_ Jaken shook himself and took off at a run to find the children. It was best to keep them in the same room so that they were easier to watch, yes? Yes.

"Hey! Watch where you're shoving people!" Kagome yelled as she was thrust forward into a room and fell to the floor as she tripped over something on the floor. Without the use of her hands, which were still tied behind her back, she had to twist, landing on her shoulder to avoid landing on her face.

"Quiet, wench! You will stay here until the Lord comes for you." With that, the guard slammed the door shut and used a sliding bolt to keep the door from being opened from the inside just in case she got free of her bonds.

Kagome shifted up into a sit as best she could, biting her lip as a spark of pain shot through her shoulder and arm. She fought the urge to make any noise or cry, but she was sure she'd done something to her arm. She hoped with all her soul that it was just some severe bruising, or else she'd be in for a lot worse, she was sure.

She shifted on the floor, unable to bring her hands down around her bottom and legs due to the pain in her shoulder, so settled for leaning against a wall and using her legs to push herself up into a standing position. It was dark outside, and there were no candles lit in the room, the only light came from the window in the room, though as she went to the room, she noticed that it was the second floor off the ground, and with her hands behind her back, she didn't have much hope making that jump.

She leaned against the wall at this point, staring out the window at the growing darkness. "Please, please someone realize that I'm gone," she pleaded softly. "InuYasha… Sesshomaru… Kaede." Someone had to notice, right? After all, her bag and weapons had been left on that road just outside the village. Any of her friends would recognize her bag, right?

She bowed her head against the glass of the window and closed her eyes, silently pleading for someone to find her when she heard a noise at the door. She tensed, drawing back into a corner of the room furthest from the door as it slid open to reveal the Lord of the castle.

"Well, Lady Kagome. You've got quite the reputation for being a powerful priestess. You should be pleased, I have made the decision to take you as my mate and you will soon be Lady of the South." With that, Lord Akinori began to remove his haori.

It didn't take long for Sesshomaru to arrive in the village that Kagome had visited. He had seen to Ah-Un before he had left, leaving him in the care of one of his servants once he was sure that Ah-Un's injuries were not life-threatening. Ah-Un was able to communicate to Sesshomaru where the village was, at least, so Sesshomaru did not have to spend precious time searching.

As he came upon the village, he could tell there was a disturbance. He caught Kagome's scent, though it was faint, coming from the village. He walked into the village, ignoring the humans. What was it with humans and their need to shout "Demon! It's a demon!" all the blessed time? He was confronted by an old woman with an eye patch who carried a bow and arrow. He stopped in the main road, staring at the old woman.

"What be ye business here, demon?" The old woman demanded.

Sesshomaru merely watched her for a moment, wondering vaguely if he should bother speaking with her. "Which of you is Kaede?"

The old woman seemed surprised. "That would be me, demon. What do ye want with me?"

"I am Lord Sesshomaru. I come in search of Kagome. She did not return to my palace tonight and those who I sent with her returned to me injured." Sesshomaru did not move nor even express any emotion over his features as he watched her.

"Ye be the half-brother of InuYasha? We suspect Kagome was taken outside the village. One of the farmers found her bag and her bow and arrows tossed aside and she was gone. We know not where." Kaede watched the demon in front of her, wondering why Sesshomaru had come to check up on Kagome if he was as heartless as he had been painted to be.

Sesshomaru watched the older woman for a moment longer before turning and walking back out of the village, following Kagome's scent down the road for a brief period before he was assaulted by the stench of horses and sake. He knelt down, touching a place in the grass that had been disturbed and upturned and raised the earth to his nose, closing his eyes. Kagome.

Letting the earth fall from his hand, he straightened up and closed his eyes, using the new scents he had of her to lead him in the direction, following the scent of Kagome and horses down the road, taking off at a run at full speed. Following the stench of the horses was not difficult, and he was not pleased when he crossed into the southern lands and found the direction that the horses were heading.

Surely it couldn't be Lord Akinori. Surely the demon lord wouldn't be that _stupid_! He slowed as he noticed the palace on the horizon and let out a growl as Kagome's scent only got stronger as he went, even in the pitch black of the night, his demon sight allowed him to see the palace perfectly in the distance. He sped up once again and stopped only at the palace gates, narrowing his eyes at the guard which approached him.

"Inform Lord Akinori that Sesshomaru, Lord of the West, demands an audience immediately," he ordered, glaring at the pitiful guard. However, the guard didn't seem to want to comply.

"Sir, it is late, the Lord will be in his chambers by now, why do you not call again after the sun has risen?" The guard asked, though his voice trembled ever-so-slightly, betraying his fear, even if Sesshomaru couldn't have smelt it emanating from the male.

Sesshomaru's reply was cut short by a scream coming from within the palace. Sesshomaru knew that scream. "Kagome," he growled viciously, eyes flashing red briefly before his hand reached down, gripping his Tokijin and drawing it out. "Move," he ordered of the guard, who stupidly drew out his own sword. "On your head be it then." He held his sword out then. "Dragonstrike," he replied, his tone harsh and cold as he swung the sword and a series of blue lightening strikes proceeded to rip through the palace gates.

He rushed into the building at this point, leaping over rubble and striking down all who got into his way. Pathetically weak demons that were stupid enough to think they could stop him. Another scream pierced Sesshomaru's keen ears. _Hold on, Kagome._ He sped up, skidding to a halt outside of the doors and kicked them open in time to see Lord Akinori standing over the bruised, bloody, and naked form of the little miko that he himself had sought to claim as his own.

"I believe that you have something which belongs to me," Sesshomaru growled, eyes flashing red again as he raised his sword. "I want it back."


	12. Spilt Ink

**Warning: This chapter contains violence and attempted rape**

"_What is black does not equate to evil, just as white does not equate to good. But white is easier to stain, and ink has been spilt." - Anonymous_

**~ ~ Flashback ~ ~**

"_Well, Lady Kagome. You've got quite the reputation for being a powerful priestess. You should be pleased, I have made the decision to take you as my mate and you will soon be Lady of the South." With that, Lord Akinori began to remove his haori._

Kagome watched with a mixture of fear and horror as the demon lord before her began to undress. It wasn't that he was particularly unattractive with his long black hair and green eyes. He even had a semi-muscular chest to top everything off. Kagome, however, was completely not impressed with him, and she pressed back against the corner of the room even more.

"Please, just let me go! I don't want to be Lady of the South." _I would much rather be Lady of the West._ Whoa, where had that thought come from? Perhaps it was just because it was looking like a choice between this man and Sesshomaru? She would definitely take Sesshomaru any day of the week. She was shaken from her thoughts by the sounds of Akinori approaching her.

"I wasn't really giving you a choice, priestess. You will bear for me many strong sons to rule the south." Akinori was completely undressed by this point, and Kagome was doing her very best not to let him distract her enough to make her actually _look _at him. No, she closed her eyes, turning her head away from him and whimpering softly.

She cringed as she felt him touch her face, forcing her head to face him once more. "Open your eyes, priestess." There was no mistaking the fact that it was an order that he had given to her, yet Kagome still refused to open her eyes. Unfortunately, her disobedience earned her a blow to the face which knocked her against the wall, stunning her enough to cause her to seep to the floor. Was it possible that sometimes demons just didn't realize how strong they were? Or was he intentionally trying to crack her skull?

Her eyes were definitely open now, and right there before her eyes was Akinori's manhood. She gave a soft yelp, closing her eyes and looking away only to have Akinori grab her by the throat and toss her bodily to the bed. She gave out a grunt at her landing and looked up at her assailant. Why her? Why was this demon lord after _her_? Surely there were other, more powerful females in his lands. Why kidnap someone and make a sex-slave?

Akinori eyed his prize on his bed. Of course, he knew that Lord Sesshomaru would probably start to question where the priestess had gone, but by then, she would bear his mating Mark and would be completely beyond the mutt's help. He reached down, ripping open the kimono that she was wearing. He narrowed his eyes slightly at the fabric which still covered her from his sight and pulled out a dagger, shifting it beneath the fabric covering her breasts and cut it away from her. He then lowered his hand to rip the fabric covering her sex and leaned his body down over her own, smirking as he leaned in and inhaled her scent.

His eyes widened and he pulled back, eyes flashing red as he glared down at her. "You are impure!" His exclamation took Kagome by surprise as she lay there, breathing heavily. "You let that mutt soil you!" He could smell Sesshomaru's scent within her very skin it seemed. But there was no mating Mark on her. So he had not taken her for his mate. It would be his loss, though he would make this little bitch pay a little before claiming her.

How _dare_ she let another demon soil her! If she had not been such a powerful miko, he would have slain her then and there, he was _not_ one to go around accepting used cast-offs. She would bear him children, yes, but he would not allow himself to be bound by this pathetic human creature that lay before him. He reached down, grabbing her by the hair and ripping the kimono the rest of the way off of her before he backhanded her once again, knocking her to the floor.

"You little wench. How could you let that _dog_ take you?" he demanded, kicking her in the side, not paying much mind to the cry of pain that she gave out. Reaching down, he lifted her again and slammed her face down onto a table, the smell of blood hitting his nose. His eyes began to bleed red as he dragged his elongated nails down her back, tearing at the flesh. He leaned down, dragging his tongue ever-so-lightly across the new wounds and shivered slightly.

Gripping her by her wrists, he jerked her up once again, throwing her across the room into the back of the headboard to his bed and moved up over her, gripping her throat as he pinned her body down to the bed, his free hand attempting to part her thighs. "I don't think you're enjoying this quite enough," he growled before there was a sudden crash from outside.

He raised himself, the whimpering human beneath him completely forgotten. What was going on out there? There were shouts and more loud crashes, this time, from within the palace. He shifted off of the bed as the noises seemed to come closer and closer to his room before suddenly, the door was kicked in. He leapt back away from the bed, eyes narrowed at the intruder. He gave a low growl as he recognized Sesshomaru. Well that had been faster than expected. This was hardly fair.

"I believe that you have something which belongs to me," Sesshomaru growled, eyes flashing red again as he raised his sword. "I want it back."

**~ ~ End Flashback ~ ~**

Kagome whimpered, raising her head slightly to see Sesshomaru standing in the doorway of the room. "Sesshomaru!" She exclaimed, attempting to rise only to have Akinori grab her by the throat once again, pulling her form against his own, her back pressed to his chest. She closed her eyes, coughing as her airway was restricted. "Sesshomaru… please…" she pleaded, eyes still fixed on the other demon lord.

Yes, she would _definitely_ taken Sesshomaru over Akinori. Even with his eyes that shade and her heart racing, she'd much rather take her chances with the dog demon.

Sesshomaru moved further into the room, eyes narrowed. "Release her now, Akinori, and I will give you my word as Lord of the West that you will be allowed to leave this castle unharmed." He tightened his grip on his sword as he watched Akinori pull Kagome against himself a bit harder.

"She is to be my mate, Sesshomaru. You cannot have what I have rightly claimed." Akinori pulled one hand over Kagome's bare stomach, and then up over her breasts, squeezing one with bruising force, causing Kagome to whimper miserably.

"I believe you are mistaken. I have already taken her as my own, Akinori. By law of the council of demons, you have taken that which does not belong to you, and I am willing to forgive this infraction and not report you to the council should you release her." Of course, Sesshomaru would never have reported Akinori to the council to begin with, that would be letting him off far too easily.

Kagome shuddered as she felt Akinori's length pressing against her bare ass, though as she remained still, a thought came to her. With her hands still bound behind her, this gave her quite a thrilling opportunity. She grabbed hold of the wretched piece of flesh and jerked, twisting her hands as best she could, nails digging into sensitive skin, and she heard Akinori cry out in pain and suddenly, she had been released.

Darting forward, despite the pain in her knee which threatened to take her legs out from beneath her, she held onto her strength until she was safely behind Sesshomaru before she tumbled to the ground. Sesshomaru darted forward, obscuring Kagome from Akinori at this point and narrowing his eyes at the other demon lord.

"N-now Sesshomaru, you gave me your word that if I released her I could leave here unharmed," Akinori stammered, suddenly not liking the odds he was faced with. With no hostage and no weapon, he was practically defenseless against this demon before him.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes slightly. "So I did," he hissed softly. He turned his sword to point to the window. "Be gone with you then," he ordered, and watched as the lord seemed to hesitate. He stepped forward, causing Akinori to stumble back towards the window.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" With that, he leapt through the window, not even bothering to try and open it.

"No, thank _you_," Sesshomaru growled, and with that, he reared back, throwing his sword out the window, and there was a sudden scream from Akinori before all was completely silent.

Sesshomaru rapidly turned to the female on the floor behind him. She was unconscious at this point, and her heart was beating erratically. He untied her bonds and pulled the blanket from the bed, gently wrapping the little miko within. She was covered in bruises and cuts, and there was even blood on her face from a cut above her eye and a split in her lip.

His poor little miko. He cradled her against his chest as he stepped from the window himself down to the ground. Holding her weight in one arm, he reached down as he passed by the body of Lord Akinori and withdrew the Tokijin from the demon lord's back where he had struck the other dead in the heart. Sheathing his sword, he readjusted Kagome within his arms as he formed a cloud beneath him which raised him from the ground.

"Se-shomaru," Kagome whispered softly, one bloody hand fisting in his haori. Sesshomaru looked down at the fragile human within his grasp. "I didn't think I would get to tell you that I'm sorry for being angry with you before." Her voice was weak, and if it weren't for his demonic senses, he might not have heard her.

"You are only human," Sesshomaru stated as if writing off what she had done as nothing. Kagome could only smile before she lost consciousness again. There was no place else in the world that she felt safer than right here… in the arms of her Lord.

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A/N: Sorry for that little cliffhanger last chapter, but I just couldn't resist! Hope you're all enjoying the story. Keep reviewing!


	13. Recovery

"What is the damage?" Sesshomaru was standing outside of Kagome's room at the palace as the healer came out. Normally, he didn't have any need of a healer, as he himself healed faster than any human, but Kagome was a completely different matter. He'd sent Jaken to the nearest human village to employ their healer's services for the young priestess.

"Well, it doesn't look like he was able to violate her physically, but there is some internal bleeding from the beating she endured. There were several broken ribs, looked like she might have been kicked pretty hard. Her right shoulder was dislocated, but she should make a full recovery with some bed rest." The healer handed over a small pouch of herbs to Sesshomaru. "Be sure the priestess gets these. Grind it up and add a bit of water until the herbs form a paste, she must eat it twice a day to keep the pain away and to help speed the healing process."

"But if she is unconscious, how do you presume this Sesshomaru to be sure that she eats it?" Sesshomaru demanded, watching the human carefully.

The healer gave a small smile. "Just place some of the paste onto your finger and rub it over her lips, her body's natural instincts will take care of the rest," she stated before turning and heading away from Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru watched the human depart before moving into Kagome's room and looking down at her. There was a bandage around her head covering the wound above her eye and what looked like some of the paste that the healer had mentioned on the cut on her lip. He reached up, gently pulling down the blanket which covered her and had to clench his teeth to bite back a growl. Her entire upper torso was bound with bandages to aid in the healing of the broken ribs.

Her cuts had been cleaned and a salve placed on them, but the bruises… they looked the worst. Blue, purple, yellow, and green in distorted colors. They looked completely vile. He himself didn't bruise, or if he did, they never got to this magnitude. It only served to prove to the demon lord how fragile humans were. He wished that he had not let Akinori die so quickly.

He pulled the blankets back up over her form to cover her from sight and to keep her from getting chilled and reached up, brushing her hair back from her forehead gently, suppressing the urge to kiss her temple. He looked at the pouch of herbs in his hand. He wasn't exactly the type to know how to make a paste from herbs, but he did not trust the servants to do it.

After all, how had Akinori discovered that Kagome would be away from the palace and thus his protection? He had to have spies in Sesshomaru's land, and he would not take the risk with Kagome's life that one of the spies was a servant of his. "Rest easy, Kagome. No one shall ever hurt you again," he vowed softly before rising to his feet from his kneeling position by the bed.

Once outside the room, he fisted the herbs angrily. "Jaken!" he called out, and within moments the small green demon was rushing towards him as fast as his little feet could carry him. "You are on guard duty. No one enters this room but me, do you understand?" he demanded, watching the demon.

"Y-yes, milord. But milord, why do _I_ have to stand watch over the human?" Jaken demanded. It wasn't fair! First he was babysitting, and now he was a door guard? He was worth more than this! Did Lord Sesshomaru not trust him with the more important tasks?

"Because you are expendable, Jaken. If anyone gets by you, you will pay with your life." In truth, Sesshomaru knew that Jaken was the only one there beyond the children that he could fully trust. And he could not leave children to guard Kagome while he found out who had revealed Kagome's departure to Akinori. Jaken was loyal, and even though he may not like his assignments, he did them.

Jaken flinched back away from Sesshomaru as the inuyoukai marched past him, leaving him to sit down in the hall in front of the doorway. "Well isn't this dull?" he demanded softly to himself. He'd rather be babysitting.

"What do you mean 'Sesshomaru was here'?" InuYasha demanded of Kaede. He and the others had returned that morning to find Kaede already awake, or still awake, as she told them. "Whoever it was must have been pretending to be Sesshomaru, he wouldn't have left the village in tact if it _were_ him." InuYasha was quite certain of this. Sesshomaru would never willingly enter a human village unless it was to destroy it.

"I tell ye only what the demon said to me. Kagome came here yesterday afternoon to collect her things, and just a short while later, we found all of her belongings on the side of the road. Just as the sun was setting, a young demon with long silver-white hair dressed in a white kimono with a fur cloak appeared looking for Kagome. He said that she had not returned to his palace as he had expected." Kaede spooned off some of the same stew she'd made the day before into bowls for Sango and Miroku at this point.

"I let him know all that we knew and he turned around and walked out of the village without so much as another word. Rather rude of him to do so, but then if he is truly ye brother, InuYasha, I can see the family resemblance." This caused Miroku and Sango to chuckle as InuYasha glared at Kaede.

"I am _nothing_ like Sesshomaru, you old hag." InuYasha turned his gaze from the group as he sat against the wall with the Tetsusaiga leaned against his shoulder.

Sango was staring down into her bowl until a nudge from Miroku seemed to jolt her back to the present. "I don't know, InuYasha, it does sound a lot like Sesshomaru. And besides, even if it wasn't, something has obviously happened to Kagome. Maybe we should go and look for her?" Sango asked, looking over at InuYasha.

Miroku tapped his chin with his chopsticks. "Hm, Sango is right. Kagome is still our friend, and something ill has befallen her, we owe it to her to check it out."

InuYasha snorted. "Heh, well I say she's the one that left the group. It's her own fault she got into trouble. If she'd just stuck with us, then it wouldn't have happened now, would it?"

"InuYasha, how many times has Kagome been kidnapped under your watch?" Miroku asked with an innocent air, casting a glance to Sango who was smirking.

InuYasha growled. "That is not the point, Miroku. She made her choice, and now she's got to deal with the consequences."

Miroku leaned over towards Sango. "Perhaps we should take Kirara and check things out for ourselves, since _someone_," he raised his voice slightly. "Is to worried about wounded pride to worry about someone who has been a very good friend for the last three years."

Sango bit back a laugh. "I think you're absolutely right, Miroku." She finished off her stew and smiled at Kaede. "Thank you very much, Kaede, but Miroku and I should be going." She reached down, taking hold of Kagome's bag and headed for the door.

"Hey! I am _not_ worried about my pride!" InuYasha snapped as Sango and Miroku rose to their feet and moved from the hut. He growled, following after them, which is, of course, exactly what they had been aiming for.

"Well if you're coming with us, you might as well help us." Miroku stated as Kirara transformed and Sango got up onto her back and Miroku followed her lead. Once outside the village, InuYasha went down onto all fours, sniffing at the ground to find that he couldn't catch much of Kagome's scent, but he _could_ smell Sesshomaru. So he _had_ been there. Well that was weird.

"They headed south," he stated, moving off at a run as Kirara followed after him with her two passengers. When they got to the Southern palace, the entire place was in an uproar. "Sesshomaru," InuYasha spat, looking at the complete devastation of the palace as well as the bodies that were being lined up and the funeral pyre that was already lit with the form of Lord Akinori upon the fire. "He murdered the Lord of the South."

"We need to go check on Kagome, because if Sesshomaru did this… while looking for Kagome, he had to have had a reason." Miroku was still eyeing the damage and looked at InuYasha. "Think, InuYasha, has Sesshomaru ever done something without a reason? And he came looking for Kagome at the village…"

"Looks like we're going back to the Western palace…" Sango said softly.

Kagome could hardly breathe for the pain when she came back to the world. Her chest felt tight and her entire body hurt. She shifted, attempting to push herself up only to have a hand placed on her shoulder, guiding her back to the bed. She looked up, squinting in the darkness to see Sesshomaru standing over her.

"You need to stay down and get your rest. The healer said you were pretty messed up," he replied with his usual stoic tone. "We need to change your bandages, but here," he stated, offering her a bowl of what looked like green goop.

Kagome took the bowl and frowned. "What is this for?" she asked, arching a brow at the male in front of her.

"It's for your injuries. The healer said you're to eat it, it helps with the pain and healing or… something. I'm not entirely sure." Sesshomaru was pulling out strips of white cloth at this point and sitting on the edge of her bed.

"So you want me to eat something that you don't even know what it is?" Kagome asked in a slightly teasing tone before scooping some of the paste onto her fingers and placing it in her mouth. She wrinkled her nose, tongue sliding from her mouth as she forced herself to swallow it. "Ugh, that is positively disgusting!" she exclaimed.

"I could have told you that from the smell," Sesshomaru replied absently as he reached out to begin undoing the bandage around her head and lightly dabbing at the cut. "It looks like this one might have started to heal, I don't think we'll need to bandage it again, but you probably want to bathe, so we should remove these…" he stated, reaching out to cut open the bandages on her chest.

"Jaken also said that there was something else we could place directly onto the cuts to make them heal faster as well," he stated softly as he gently helped her to sit up and began unwrapping her chest. Of course, just as he was finishing un-wrapping her torso, taking extra care not to hurt her anymore than she already was and missing the blush on her face as her breasts were revealed, the door was thrust open and in walked InuYasha.


	14. A Growing Bond

"InuYasha! Sit!" Kagome shrieked, reaching down to pull the blankets up against her chest as InuYasha was thrust down against the ground with a grunt. "Get out! Get out of here!" She screamed, wincing at the pain the sudden movement had brought up in her.

Sesshomaru immediately got to his feet, grabbing InuYasha by the hair and hauled him out of the room. "Have you no decency or respect, half-breed?"

InuYasha growled. "Why the hell are _you_ in there? Kagome isn't wearing anything!"

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes viciously. "Because Kagome is _mine._"

"Like hell she is!" InuYasha shouted, trying to push past Sesshomaru, only to have Miroku and Sango grab hold of his arms. "Let go of me you two, I need to talk to Kagome! Kagome, get out here right now and talk to me!"

"InuYasha, you need to let her get dressed before you start demanding things of her!" Sango exclaimed before leaving InuYasha to Miroku and pushing past Sesshomaru into the room and moving towards Kagome. "Oh, Kagome," she whispered as she knelt beside the bed and helped Kagome to finish the hurried wrapping around her chest that she had started. She then reached over and took the clean kimono that Sesshomaru had pulled out previously and helped her to pull it on.

During this time, Sesshomaru managed to keep InuYasha and Miroku from the room until Sango was once again back at the door and looked at Sesshomaru. "She's resting now, you will tell us what happened," she ordered sternly in a tone that clearly said she was not taking no for an answer. She looked at InuYasha and Miroku then. "Come on, let's go someplace better suited to talk."

Sesshomaru eyed InuYasha warily though never-the-less agreed to go to the greeting chamber with the three friends of Kagome and explained to them, without giving away to many specifics, about Kagome getting kidnapped.

"So you let her get kidnapped by that bastard?" InuYasha demanded once Sesshomaru had finished telling them what happened. "Why did you let her go off to the village alone?"

"She had Ah-Un with her. I had no reason to believe that she would not return safely until Ah-Un returned without her. They were _humans_, she should have been able to defend herself." If she had been able to see them in time, of course there was little you could do in close range with a bow and arrow. At that moment, Sesshomaru made a mental note to start teaching Kagome to fight with a sword and making her carry a dagger at all times.

"Kagome can't protect herself. She's completely useless like that! All she's good for is standing back out of the way and telling people what they can do." InuYasha was bitter, that much Sesshomaru could derive from his half-brother's tone. "So if you've got some misconceptions about some all-powerful fighter to be _yours_, then you have the wrong girl."

Sesshomaru watched InuYasha for a brief moment. "Unless my powers of recollection are wrong, which I doubt, Kagome was an essential part of the destruction of Naraku. Without her purification abilities, Naraku would likely still be alive. Also, it astonishes me how stupid you really are, half-breed. I knew you were ignorant, I never knew you were stupid." Sesshomaru didn't seem to notice, or just didn't care, that InuYasha was getting exceptionally angry. "The fact that you cannot see the power lying dormant in the miko only makes you blind as well. Stupidity and blindness, _little brother_, are not good qualities to have in conjunction with one another."

InuYasha growled viciously only to be struck on the head with Sango's Hiraikotsu. "Hey! What was that for?" he demanded, glaring at Sango.

"Because Sesshomaru is right, InuYasha," Sango stated, removing her weapon from InuYasha's head. She moved forward, setting Kagome's bag down beside of Sesshomaru. "Those are Kagome's things, would you be sure that she gets them? Oh, and tell her once she's feeling better, that she needs to come back to the village so that she can attend our wedding…" She looked Sesshomaru over for a moment. "You can come with her, to prevent something like this happening again." She leaned forward, getting right up into Sesshomaru's face. "And if you hurt her… I will kill you."

Sesshomaru watched in vague shock as Sango moved away from him and her loyal feline Kirara was physically dragging InuYasha away from himself. He looked down at Kagome's bag, odd thing that it was, and lifted it, moving back to her room. At least Kagome had _one_ decent friend. Once in the room, he watched Kagome, setting down her bag. "Jaken," he called, watching as the toad demon approached him. "Bring in someone to repair this door immediately." He then moved back to Kagome's bedside, brushing back her hair once more.

Kagome's eyes opened slowly as she felt someone stroking her forehead. She smiled faintly. "Sango?" She inquired before realizing that it was Sesshomaru and she blushed. "Oh, um, sorry. I thought you were Sango." She winced as she pushed herself up into a sit. "Where did everyone go?"

Sesshomaru looked down at himself for a moment before looking up at Kagome. "I do believe I am a little insulted that you thought me a female. However, your friends have taken their leave of you now that they know you are still alive. However, that worthless half-breed rather destroyed your door. If you like, I can take you to the hot springs in my chambers to wash up while your door is repaired." He'd rather not have repair men peeping at Kagome.

Kagome gave a faint nod. "I-I would like that," she said softly, shifting herself to attempt to stand with a wince. That wasn't pleasant in the least. Though suddenly there was an arm going around her torso and then another under her legs and suddenly, she was flying. Okay, so she wasn't flying, but being carried like this while still awake was entirely unfamiliar to her.

"Your friend brought your bag with her as well, do you want to take it as well?" Sesshomaru inquired as he paused before the bag. At her nod, he leaned down, picking it up with two fingers while still keeping a hold on Kagome and heading out of the room towards his own and then gently setting her down outside of his hot springs and set her bag down.

He paused for a moment, reaching up to brush her hair back from the wound over her eye and leaned in, lightly pressing a kiss to the cut before pulling away. "Call for me if you need anything or when you're done and I'll take you back to your room. I'm going to go and check on Ah-Un," he stated softly before turning away from her.

Kagome watched him leave and slowly and pulled off the kimono she was wearing and then the bandages around her torso before slowly sinking into the water with a soft wince. She looked horrible, it was the first time she'd seen her whole body in the light, and she looked absolutely atrocious. How was Sesshomaru able to look at her like this? She sighed. At least she had her things back. She dragged her bag to the edge of the spring and opened it, smiling as she pulled out a bar of soap and a wash rag as well as her shampoo and conditioner.

She was glad to be able to wash herself properly and it was astounding how much better she looked afterward. Sure, it looked like someone, probably Sesshomaru, had cleaned the dried blood off of her body so she wasn't completely nasty, but it was amazing what one could accomplish with real soap. And she smelled much better as well.

By the time she was done rinsing her hair, which had been difficult due to the pain in her shoulder, Sesshomaru had returned. Kagome gave a soft yelp, instinctively moving to cover herself as Sesshomaru made his presence know before she blushed, slowly lowering her arms from her breasts. It was rather ridiculous, as made evident by the fact that Sesshomaru was looking at her with an arched eyebrow. He _had_ seen her naked multiple times before, but it was still odd.

Accepting his help from the water, she leaned on him as he grabbed her bag and while she leaned against the doorframe, he proceeded to gently dry her with a large cloth. She winced slightly, though was surprised at how gentle his touch was. He wasn't being rough with her in the slightest. She pulled her bag towards her once he was finished and pulled out a pair of panties and a new bra, though winced as she looked at her bra. Deciding to forgo the bra, she pulled on a pair of panties and sat down on Sesshomaru's bed.

She looked up at him as he moved forward, kneeling before her with a small tray with fresh cloth to bind her torso. She remained stationary and silent as Sesshomaru gently wrapped her torso and tied it off. He then picked up some of the foul-smelling and foul-tasting paste and offered it to her.

Kagome smiled faintly. "You can get rid of that," she stated before reaching into her bag to pull out a bottle of pills. "I have my own medicine," she stated, taking out two pills and placing them in her mouth and using her spit to swallow them. "These work just as well and don't smell or taste like crap." She smiled faintly as she looked down at Sesshomaru who was still kneeling in front of her. She reached into her bag at this point, pulling out a shirt and tugging it on before looking back at him.

Sesshomaru slowly straightened at this point. "I'll go and get you something to eat, you must be hungry." With that, he turned from the room, unwilling to allow Kagome to go to her own room while the repair men were still there. He was able to get the servants to give him a tray of food with little prompting, though when he arrived in his room, it was to see Kagome curled on the bed, holding his blankets up to her face and hugging them.

Setting the tray down on a table, he moved towards the bed slowly and gently pulled the blankets from Kagome's grip and pulled them up over her. Leaning over, he brushed her hair back yet again and this time, could not contain himself as he leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple before heading out of the room. With a final look back towards her sleeping form, Sesshomaru allowed a faint smile to tug his lips. He then closed the door and headed down the hall. Well, there was still a spy to be found, and she would be safe there, no servant would dare enter his room uninvited.


	15. A Wedding and a Choice

"Don't you want to join in the festivities?" Kagome asked Sesshomaru as she walked up to him. It had been nearly a week since her ordeal, and while it still hurt if she turned wrong due to her ribs or took a breath that was too deep, she was at least moving around without having Sesshomaru carry her around. Though it had felt rather nice, if Kagome were to be honest with herself.

"I do not think that my presence would be cause for celebration. I'm here to keep watch, nothing more." Sesshomaru was standing at the gateway which led up a series of stairs to the village shrine. They were in Kaede's village, and Sango and Miroku had just been wed by Kaede. "You should go and join your friends. They are better celebration companions than this Sesshomaru."

He wondered vaguely why he was torturing himself being here, with all of these humans in a confined space. The smell alone was nearly enough to choke him. He didn't know how InuYasha was standing it, though he had been forced to remind InuYasha to keep his hands to himself when he tried to touch Kagome. He watched as Kagome turned back to her friends and he leaned against the gate post once more.

Kagome smiled slightly at Sesshomaru, leaning up and pressing a gentle kiss to Sesshomaru's cheek. "Thank you for coming here with me." Sesshomaru was loath to let her out of his sight this past week, and she couldn't say that she minded all that much. It was nice to know that Sesshomaru didn't just think of her as something to be used.

She moved away from him at this point, leaving him beside the gate to go over to Sango and whisper something to her. Sango cast a glance towards Sesshomaru before nodding to Kagome and giving her a warm smile. Kagome kissed her cheek, gently taking her hand and wishing her well. "I'll come back and visit as soon as I can," she said happily. "Congrats again, Sango." Another kiss to Sango's cheek and she moved back to Sesshomaru. "Walk with me?"

Sesshomaru allowed a small frown to grace his features as he walked after Kagome into the forest near the village. "Kagome, what are you doing?" he asked softly, coming to walk beside of her.

"You weren't having all that good of a time, and I'm impressed you made it through the ceremony and part of the reception, I told Sango that I wanted to visit the well while I was here in the east and she understands." She smiled up at him as she reached down, slowly looping her arm through Sesshomaru's.

She was rather surprised when he didn't immediately pull away from her, though was significantly pleased by it. They didn't talk during the short trip to the bone-eater's well in the forest of InuYasha until they got there. She removed her arm from Sesshomaru's and approached the dry well and leaned against the side of it.

She was there for a couple of minutes before Sesshomaru approached her. "What is it that you wanted to see?" he asked simply, looking down at her.

"I guess… I guess I wanted to see if it looked any different now that Naraku was dead. I meant to come back here sooner but I got side-tracked." Her family was probably worried, it had been nearly three weeks since Naraku's defeat, and a month since she'd been home. She felt so guilty about not thinking about how worried they would have been before. "I don't even know if I can pass through the well anymore now that the Shikon no Tama is gone."

"Do you wish to try and cross over?" Sesshomaru asked simply, watching her. He knew that if she went back to her time, then she likely wouldn't be returning again. He watched her seriously, knowing that she loved her family.

Kagome looked up at Sesshomaru. It was true that she had grown rather fond of the inuyoukai who had been very gentlemanly while she had been injured. Not once had he tried to get her to have sex with him again, and had simply helped her with her wrappings and in treating her cuts, even helping her around the palace. She was growing used to the fact that his face tended not to show much emotion, if any at all. Now that she knew that it was his eyes that you had to pay attention to, anyway. Even when Sesshomaru didn't smile, it was clear in his eyes when he was pleased.

She didn't expect Sesshomaru to change overnight. That was an impossibility, the both of them had to work together to change for the better if they were going to make any kind of relationship between them work. Did she want to try and go back? Her mother had known that it was a possibility that she might not come back. When she'd come back this last time, Kagome had even made a point to say goodbye to her mom. That didn't make this easy, though.

She looked back to the well, closing her eyes slightly as a few tears welled up in her eyes before sliding down her cheek and into the well. _Goodbye._ She straightened up slightly. "No, I don't want to try and go back. I've made my choice. I don't really fit in all that well in my time period. I've found where I belong here," she stated, looking up at Sesshomaru with a small smile. "I want to be your Mate."

InuYasha narrowed his eyes as he watched from the branches of a tree. How could Kagome want to be with that piece of filth? Was that what she was in to? No emotion? Cruel demeanors? Was that why he didn't measure up? He gave a low growl before he took off through the treetops back towards the village.

So Kagome didn't want to go home, eh? Well, InuYasha would just see about that. He would rather have her back in her own time then in the arms of his good-for-nothing brother. When he arrived back at the village, Miroku and Sango had already retired to their own hut, Kohaku, who usually lived with them, was staying with Kaede for a couple of nights to let them have their alone time. Kagome's idea, of course, she called it their 'honeymoon' or something equally as ridiculous. Shippo had also come with Kagome and would be staying with Kaede, Kagome had promised Ah-Un could bring Shippo home so long as he was careful.

"Master InuYasha, where have you been?" InuYasha's nose wrinkled in distaste as he raised his hand to squash the small form of Myoga the flea.

"Out for a walk," he snapped, simply walking away from Myoga until the flea demon leapt to his shoulder. "Why, got some kind of problem with that, Myoga?" he growled viciously, walking with his hands tucked into his sleeves.

"Oh, okay, I was afraid you'd followed Kagome and Sesshomaru. But you wouldn't be that foolish, would you, Master InuYasha? For you know that if Sesshomaru found you near Kagome again, he would likely become very angry." Myoga reasoned until InuYasha was glaring at him and he gave a nervous laugh. "I-I mean that is to say that… Kagome has made her choice, Master InuYasha, following her around does not help your case."

InuYasha narrowed his eyes slightly as he paused at the edge of the village overlooking the surrounding area. "Kagome will not be with Sesshomaru. I'd rather her be stuck back in her own era where no harm can get to her than have her in the hands of that evil demon. Sesshomaru is almost as bad as Naraku on some accounts." He straightened his back, his resolve hardened.

"Somehow, I _will_ find a way to get Kagome away from him."

* * *

A/N: A short chapter, I know. Maybe a little bit of a filler, but the events in this chapter are essential to the story.


	16. The Mating Ritual

**Warning: Chapter contains lemon!**

"So, how do I become your mate?" Kagome asked, slowly wrapping her arms gently around Sesshomaru's waist, resting her head against his chest. This was a benefit to Sesshomaru being so much taller than her. She closed her eyes, reveling in the warmth of his form against her.

"Through the mating ritual," he stated simply, arms coming around her slowly, head lowering to rest on top of hers. "We should go back to the palace to do this… but Shippo is still in the village," he added, pulling away to look down at her.

Kagome smiled slightly, looking up at the demon lord. "But Ah-Un is also in the village. Shippo can come back on Ah-Un when he wakes up tomorrow or he can stay and play with Kohaku. Kaede, Sango, and Miroku will keep an eye on him."

This was all the prompting the Lord of the West needed and a cloud formed beneath him and Kagome before they rose up into the sky and sped away towards Sesshomaru's palace. Kagome held tightly to Sesshomaru, looking up at him every so often and couldn't help the smile. She thought she could see just a bit of eagerness in her usually stoic lord.

Upon arriving at the palace, Kagome laughed with giddiness as Sesshomaru lifted her up bridal style so that they could move more quickly, and she was grinning at the inuyoukai as he set her gently upon his bed. "Just a bit eager?" she asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

Sesshomaru slowly leaned down over her form. "I just don't want you to suddenly change your mind. You are mine, and it is time that we let everyone else know that very fact." It had been torture waiting for Kagome's injuries to heal, and he would still have to be wary of her torso, at least until after the mating ritual anyway.

Kagome pushed herself up onto her elbows as she watched the male above her, bringing her lower lip into her mouth and worrying it for a moment. "So what all does this entail then?" she asked once again, wondering if Sesshomaru actually planned on telling her. InuYasha had always told her that she would just have to wait and find out, but if their last real encounter was what it was, then she didn't know if she'd ever be ready for it.

Sesshomaru raised a hand, lightly brushing her hair back from her face and leaned in, pressing a light kiss to her lips. "Well, there are a number of things." He reached down, slowly undoing the sash of her kimono. He was glad that she'd done as he'd asked and forgone the clothes from her own time period in favor of more appropriate clothing.

He pushed the hand up her form once more then, parting the fabric and continuing to undress her until his hand was brushing against skin. That was the only down side to the appropriate clothing. It took much longer to get her undressed, but he supposed he should be enjoying the challenge. He let his gaze move up over her form, by now used to the bottoms that she wore to cover herself, though he couldn't help but feel grateful that she had stopped wearing the top chastity device she called a bra.

He moved down, kissing her lips once again as he pressed his weight against her without letting it really rest on her. His fingers danced over the bandages which still wrapped her torso and untied the cloth. One hand moved around behind her back, lifting her from the bed so that he could completely unwrap her torso and gently trailed his claws over her skin, causing a shiver to run down her spine.

"The first step of the mating ritual is our physical union," he whispered against her throat as he took the opportunity while she was lifted from the bed to completely rid her of her kimono. He lay her back down once more and straightened. Off came his haori and then the rest of his clothes quickly followed. He was pleased with her appreciation for his body, the beast in him practically growled with approval.

"Our union must be slow, gentle, so as to allow the bonding magic to rise. It is a fail-safe among full-blooded demons so that none can be taken by rape. We cannot use our strength to conquer, only to protect and to nurture." At least as far as the mating ritual went. He leaned down, pressing their hips together gently, not willing to cause her any pain, though it surprised even him as to how much he just wanted to hold her and make love to her, not simply rut with her.

Shifting down, he pulled her panties from her form, and he let his tongue dart over the sensitive bundle of nerves within her nether regions. He gave a low growl at the taste, eyes slowly bleeding red at the smell and taste of his soon-to-be mate, his tongue delving into the wet cavern of her sex and causing a moan to come from Kagome's lips.

The beast was pleased, oh so very pleased. He shifted up her form once more, fingers taking over the task of stroking her, stimulating her pleasure as the head of his length rubbed against her slowly. Pressing a kiss to her lips, he moved his hand from her sex to her wrist, guiding her hand down to him until her fingers brushed his arousal.

Sesshomaru gave a soft hiss, eyes now a fixed red as his canines elongated and his claws grew a bit. He kept eye-contact with her as she got the hint and slowly circled her fingers around his length, slowly stroking him. He was fighting to keep his eyes open at this point, and leaned in to kiss just beneath her ear. "Guide me into you. I want you to feel us joined," he growled softly against her skin.

Kagome blushed, biting her lip as she raised her legs, bending them at the knee and shifted to give herself a better angle. With her fingers wrapped around the long, heavy length of Sesshomaru's erection, she rubbed his tip against her cleft, wetting it with her own arousal in addition to his own. She pressed his tip against her entrance and gently lifted her hips and tugged, pushing him into her.

She braced herself, expecting pain, though unlike the first time, it was only pleasure. She tilted her head back slightly and groaned a bit, feeling as he pushed himself deeper into her. "Oh, Sesshomaru," she moaned, her hands moving up to his shoulders and around his back, pulling his form against her own. There was a bit of pain from her chest, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle.

Sesshomaru closed his eyes, one hand moving around Kagome as she lifted her form against his own to hold her there, his mouth leaving kisses and nips all along her collarbone and down over her breasts. "Fuck, Kagome, you're so tight around me…" It was surreal, as he built up a thrusting rhythm within her, he could hardly contain himself. His beast clawing for control, he was surprised he was managing to maintain some modicum of sanity. He wanted to thrust into her hard and fast, he wanted to make her scream in pleasure. That would have to be for another time, though.

Kagome groaned, thrusting up against Sesshomaru's lean body, her breasts pressed against his chest as they moved, the sound of their harmonious grunts and groans the only sound in the room. Then, however, Sesshomaru was moving his hand from around her waist and down to where they were joined, stroking his fingers over her nether regions as he angled his hips in a different position, striking a nerve deep within her which caused her to cry out.

"Oh, _kami_, Sesshomaru, do that again," she pleaded, her breathing already becoming erratic as he sped up his motions ever-so-slightly and thrust against her g-spot again and she arched against him, groaning loudly. "Yes, baby… right there…" Her eyes fell closed as he stroked her and suddenly she was convulsing within his arms and she heard him growl in triumph as she rode out her orgasm which only seemed to go on forever as he never halted his thrusts into her.

"So beautiful, Kagome," Sesshomaru growled softly, and she really was. The noises she was making, the way she was pressing up against him. He growled softly, pressing his lips against her pulse point within her throat and shuddered. He continued stroking her clit gently as he continued to drive himself into her.

When he felt her tensing beneath him again, he growled, nearing his own release. "Kagome, when you reach your next apex, I'm going to Mark you… and you'll need to do the same to me. He reached up with his hand slowly and used a nail to make a long cut in his own pulse point as he arched against Kagome, feeling her tense around him.

His hand moved to the back of her head as he pressed her mouth to the cut and he thrust once more into her and reached his own orgasm and sank his fangs into her pulse point. He closed his eyes tightly as he felt a sudden stab of pain as he felt his demonic powers being pulled from him and into the girl beneath him. His hand on the bed closed into a fist, ripping the fabric beneath him as he shuddered.

He wasn't entirely sure what this would do to Kagome, full mating between a full demon and a human was exceptionally rare. In the case of demons, when the Marking occurred, the weaker demon would become infused with the power of the stronger demon, making them equals so that the weaker demon could better defend themselves with their new strength.

When Sesshomaru finally pulled from the bite as the pain in his own body lessened, his eyes were once again their normal amber shade. He shifted himself, pulling his length free of Kagome's entrance as he looked over her.

Kagome's eyes were still closed. Her teeth were clenched as she felt a searing pain through her form. It was centered around her torso, though she knew if she unclenched her teeth, she would cry out and she didn't need to alarm Sesshomaru. When it finally began to dissipate, she opened her eyes to look up at Sesshomaru who was still hovering over her.

What she wasn't expecting was the shock she saw in Sesshomaru's eyes. "What is it?" she asked softly, frowning as she pushed herself up and realized that her chest no longer hurt as it had before. She looked down at herself and also noticed that the faint bruises still left on her form were almost completely gone. "What… what happened?" she asked, moving to sit up as Sesshomaru moved off of her.

"Kagome, y-you look…" Beautiful, gorgeous… demonic. Any of them would have fit the end of his sentence as he watched her before he got to his feet, moving to pick up the mirror on his own table and offered it to her carefully.

When Kagome lifted the mirror, she gasped, eyes widening. Her brown eyes were much lighter now, closer to the shade of Sesshomaru's eyes. There was a magenta stripe running down either cheek where Sesshomaru had two, but in the center of her forehead was the crescent moon that was so prominent on that of her Mate. Her canines were lengthened, which she noticed as she ran her tongue over them experimentally. She pulled back her hair to see that her ears were slightly pointed now, like Sesshomaru's.

Laying the mirror in her lap, she looked down at her hands, her own hands and arms now sporting a single magenta stripe over her skin and even down over her legs to her feet. Kagome raised her gaze to that of Sesshomaru who was looking at her nude form appreciatively. "You didn't know this would happen?" she asked softly once she found her voice.

Sesshomaru slowly shook his head as he watched her. "No, I can't say that I did. I've never heard of a full-demon performing the mating ritual with a human before… I didn't know that it would-"

"Make me a demon?"

"Make you a demoness."


	17. Fight for Friendship

"Ah, shit, that hurt!" Kagome cried out as the sword in her hand was knocked from her grasp and she was sporting a nice new cut on her hand to show for it. She was forced back several steps when there was a sword point suddenly aimed at her throat. She gave out a low growl at the new position she found herself in, facing down the much more powerful demon in front of her. "Okay, you win this round, alright?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips as she glared at Sesshomaru.

Lowering the sword, he straightened up, reaching out to gently take hold of her hand and look at the cut. "It's not deep, it'll heal in a minute," he said softly, looking up at her. It was kind of creepy to her still how he could keep all physical reactions off of his face even when fighting. She'd seen the flash of alarm in his eyes when he'd actually cut her, but the only time his physical reactions matched his emotional feelings was in the privacy of their bedroom.

Out in public, Sesshomaru had an image to uphold. A reputation to keep, he was the Lord of the West, and he must seem infallible unless he wanted to end up like his father. At least, that was what Sesshomaru had told her previously. She gave him a faint nod as he stated that her hand would be fine, already it was smaller than it had originally been. She looked up at him at this point, tilting her head slightly.

Sesshomaru had insisted that he be the one to teach her how to fight because he was the best and no one could defeat him. Kagome knew better though, because the first time she'd been close to getting hit previously by one of the servants, Sesshomaru had nearly lost control of his inner beast. She knew that he couldn't bear the thought of anyone hurting her, even if he'd never admit it. It made her feel rather special that he so obviously cared about her.

It had only been about a week since her transformation, and Sesshomaru had insisted she learn something other than the bow and arrow. So not only were they working with swords, but with her demonic abilities as well. To Kagome's great disappointment, she didn't have poison claws or that nifty green whip that Sesshomaru had.

Instead, her powers seemed to be centered on her previous miko powers and merely strengthened. The purification energy that she could surround her arrows with could now be manifested in her bare hand as an energy blast or thrust forward onto any surface that she touched, including her sword. She'd figured that out when Sesshomaru had been attempting to raise her ire and had said something about her 'pathetic' human friends. Sesshomaru had been down for the count for almost a full hour from the energy blast that she'd conjured up.

She'd felt horrible for hours more.

Already, though, she was lasting longer in a fight against Sesshomaru. They were using normal, non-magical swords, of course, Sesshomaru refused to use the Bakusaiga on her. He moved over to pick up the sword she'd vacated. "That is enough practice for one day," he stated simply, moving to pull the sheath from Kagome's sash and sheathed the sword.

"Aw, but I almost had you!" she exclaimed. "Can't we go just a little longer, Sessy, please?"

Sesshomaru arched one delicate eyebrow as he looked at her. "What has this Sesshomaru told you about using that nickname outside of the privacy of our room?" he asked simply. "Besides, we've been at this for hours. It is time for a break, dinner will be served soon and we both need to go and bathe and change before then." With that, he gathered his own sword and moved towards the door that led into the palace from the garden.

Kagome just smiled and shook her head slightly, watching him move away from her. She moved through the garden slowly, reaching down to pick a flower from the garden and brought it to her nose and closed her eyes slowly. "Mm," she whispered softly before starting towards the door before a scent beyond the flowers of the garden. She frowned, it was similar to Sesshomaru's scent but… different. She turned rapidly and her eyes widened slightly.

"InuYasha."

"Where is Sesshomaru?" InuYasha demanded, moving forward towards her. "Where is your- Kagome?" he demanded, eyes widening as he leaned in and inhaled her scent. "You… you _mated_ with him? Already?"

"Already? InuYasha, he and I have been together almost a month and he's treated me better than you _ever_ did, so why don't you just go on home and get over it, InuYasha?" She demanded, placing her hands on her hips as he approached her.

"What did he _do_ to you? Look at yourself! You're like a-"

"Demon?" Kagome asked, arching a brow, moving her arms across her chest.

"Well... yeah. What did he do?" InuYasha paused in front of her before shaking his head. "It doesn't matter, come on, you need to get away from him. Kaede can figure out how to fix you." He reached out to grab hold her arm but frowned as she pulled away from him with little effort and was suddenly standing behind him.

"I'm not going anywhere, InuYasha. I live here now, with my Mate and my children, and you need to get used to it." With that, Kagome moved back towards the palace only to have InuYasha reach out to grab her again. "Let _go_ of me, InuYasha!" She exclaimed, eyes flashing red momentarily as she turned rapidly, holding out her hand which was glowing pink. And suddenly, InuYasha was thrust away from her as the ball of energy struck his chest.

He landed with a grunt several feet away and didn't move, and as Kagome's eyes returned to normal, she placed a hand to her mouth and screamed. "Oh _kami_, InuYasha!" she exclaimed, rushing to his side and kneeling down beside of him. A servant came out of the palace at her scream and she turned him rapidly. "Get Sesshomaru. Now!" she ordered as she panicked, reaching down to pull off InuYasha's haori and pull open the top of his kimono, exposing a large black burn area.

There were tears in her eyes at this point. "InuYasha! InuYasha! Please, wake up! Come on, you're tougher than allowing a little energy blast to get you down! Come on!" she exclaimed, biting her lip and drawing a bit of blood with her newfound fangs as she tried to shake him awake. "Dearkami, please, wake up, InuYasha," she pleaded softly.

About that time is when Sesshomaru arrived, moving quickly to her side, touching her shoulder. "What happened?" he demanded.

"InuYasha, he came and we had an argument and he told me that I had to come with him so Kaede could fix me and I got so upset and… oh kami, Sessy, I just blasted him!" She hid her face in her hands as she cried, just knowing she'd killed InuYasha. Sesshomaru's voice, however, drew her attention back to the two inuyoukai.

"He'll be fine," Sesshomaru said softly, touching the area around where the energy blast had hit him. He looked to the servant and beckoned him forward. "Take him to the room he stayed in during the repairs," he instructed and the servant nodded and with that, one other servant came over as well and the two of them lifted him.

Kagome looked over at Sesshomaru. "Are you sure he'll be alright?" She may not have loved him anymore, but he was still her close friend. She looked after InuYasha and then back to Sesshomaru. He was probably right, she'd seen InuYasha have gaping gut wounds before and survive, surely he could survive a little energy blast, right?

She felt Sesshomaru's arms slowly come around her and allowed herself to get lost in his warmth, taking the comfort he was offering as she rested her head against his chest and let herself cry. What was going _on_ with her? She'd just attacked her best friend! The very first person she'd met in this era. The one who had taken care of her for nearly three years, protected her. She was out of control!

"What's wrong with me, Sessy?" she whispered softly, eyes closed tightly as she tightened her hold on him.

"You'll get used to it, Kagome. It's just your new demon temperament. The inner beast, as I call it. Sometimes, she'll come out when you least expect her. You'll learn to control it, all demons do. You're just getting a little bit of a later start than most have." He pulled away to look down at her. "Come on, let's go see InuYasha… maybe you can figure out your new powers and you'll find you have some kind of healing ability."

Kagome nodded slightly before turning and moving towards the palace with Sesshomaru, reaching up gently to wipe the tears from her cheeks, trying to be careful of her new claws. Once there, she moved towards the side of the bed, InuYasha's torso was stripped bare and a servant was attempting to bandage his chest.

Kagome moved to kneel down, reaching out to gently take his hand. "InuYasha… I'm so sorry," she whispered softly, bowing her head softly.

InuYasha's eyes slowly opened and he looked over at Kagome and watched her, knowing she was on the verge of tears. "Kagome…" he whispered softly.

Kagome raised her gaze and looked up at him. "InuYasha? I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. Please forgive me, I'm so sorry."

"Kagome…" InuYasha started, looking down at where she was holding his hand. "You're going to break my fingers if you don't let go."

Kagome laughed nervously, releasing her hold on the other's hand and looked up at him. "I never meant to hurt you, InuYasha… you have to know that."

InuYasha cast a glance to Sesshomaru who was standing in the doorway before looking back at Kagome. "I know. I'm sorry too, Kagome. I never meant to hurt you either."

Kagome nodded, bowing her head and closing her eyes, maybe they would be able to fix their friendship after all.


	18. A Startling Revelation

The female inuyoukai dodged to the right as there was suddenly a sword hurling through the air at her head and she turned, smirking slightly now that her opponent was unarmed. Her own sword came around, the blade glowing bright pink as she extended her energy outward and went in for the killing blow. Her opponent had nowhere to go. The point of the sword stopped just above the Adam 's apple on the throat of her husband.

"I win!" she shrieked, grinning down at Sesshomaru who was on the ground at the point of her sword. "I won! I actually won!" she exclaimed, removing her sword away from Sesshomaru and preceded to do a little dance of happiness, much to the hidden amusement of Sesshomaru whose eyes were fixed on her bottom as she danced.

Both were pulled from their reverie and joy by the sound of clapping as Sango and Miroku reminded the two of them that they were not alone. Sesshomaru placed the mask back onto his features and got to his feet. Moving to fetch his lost sword, he sheathed it before approaching Kagome and taking her hand gently, leaning down to kiss it. "Well done, my lady." He leaned in then, pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek. "This Sesshomaru is most proud of his mate." With that, he pulled away, watching her carefully.

Kagome blushed at the praise and the kiss, placing a hand on Sesshomaru's chest lightly. "Thank you so much for teaching me. It's been great learning from the best." She ignored the snort off to the side where her friends were sitting down. InuYasha was still adjusting to the relationship between her and Sesshomaru, though nearly a month had passed. She was just glad that Sesshomaru allowed him and her other friends to visit the palace regularly, even if he did continue to harass InuYasha just for the sport of it.

She knew by now that Sesshomaru didn't really _hate_ InuYasha anymore, even though Sesshomaru would still insist that he did. Their back-and-forth banter was more sibling rivalry and sibling teasing than sworn enemies trying to kill one another. It reminded her, sometimes, of Souta. She missed her family something fierce, though Sesshomaru promised her that she would soon have a new family to take her mind off of things.

Kagome sheathed the sword she was carrying and moved back towards her friends as Sesshomaru followed behind her a few steps. She looked up at InuYasha who was perched in a tree in the gardens. "So what? You don't think I could beat you in a fight? I bet I could!" she challenged, grinning slightly.

"With that puny sword? Against the Tetsusaiga? You'd lose in an instant," InuYasha bragged, looking down at her. He sat with his back against the trunk of the tree and his legs propped up in front of him, arms crossed over his chest and he looked like he might have been sulking just a little.

"Of course I wouldn't use this sword. That would hardly be effective against a demon sword. I'd borrow Sesshomaru's Bakusaiga, naturally." She grinned up at him as InuYasha looked down at her in shock.

"You'd use that against _me_?" he asked, seeming a bit insulted that she'd use such a dangerous weapon on him.

"Well it's not like I know how to use its abilities or anything, besides, you're so confident that I'd lose in just a few minutes, what's there to lose? You know all of the Tetsusaiga's abilities, and I don't even know what all of Bakusaiga's abilities are! Sounds like a fair fight to me." Kagome chuckled, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sesshomaru frowned slightly. "I don't know that I approve of this challenge, Kagome. What if you get injured?" He didn't like the thought of her being hit with the Windscar. He'd been struck by it once before and only the fact that he had the Tensaiga had kept him from being annihilated.

"Oh relax, Sesshomaru, InuYasha isn't about to hurt me, are you, InuYasha?" she called up at the half-demon. "Or are you to _afraid_ to accept my challenge?" She taunted, placing her hands on her hips with a smirk.

"I am not afraid!" InuYasha argued, jumping down from the tree and striding towards her. "Fine then, I accept your challenge on the condition that when I beat you, Sesshomaru stays out of it and doesn't try and attack me."

Sesshomaru's mouth opened to object, but he was cut off as Kagome replied simply. "Done." She then turned to Sesshomaru and grinned. "Can I borrow the Bakusaiga, please?" she requested, holding out her hand. She laughed as he grudgingly pulled the sheath from his sash and handed it to her.

Removing her other sword, she handed it to him and placed the Bakusaiga in her sash in turn and moved into the main part of the garden where she had just 'battled' with Sesshomaru. She drew the Bakusaiga, marveling at how heavy it was. Heavier than the sword she had previously been using, but it wasn't so heavy that she couldn't lift it. Swinging it might prove to be a whole new challenge though.

She watched as InuYasha drew out the Tetsusaiga and watched it transform and she grinned at him before their little faux battle began. It _was_ harder to swing the Bakusaiga. It didn't work as well for her as the normal sword she was used to. She had no doubt that had she still been human, she'd never have been able to wield this sword effectively. Only about 15 minutes into the little fight, however, she was already starting to tire.

InuYasha noticed this and took advantage of it and swung the Tetsusaiga in a wide arch. Kagome saw her chance and sped forward, moving faster than InuYasha's swing and came up around behind him as he was momentarily confused, placing the sword to his back and a hand around his throat. "Gotcha!"

InuYasha turned rapidly, pulling the Tetsusaiga around towards her, and she only just got the Bakusaiga up to block the attack which incidentally knocked the Tetsusaiga from InuYasha's grip, and as it lodged itself in the ground, Kagome straightened up. "See? I win." She grinned slightly. InuYasha was staring straight at her before she turned and reached out to take hold of the Tetsusaiga to return it to InuYasha.

"Kagome! No!" Sesshomaru shouted, rushing forward, but he wasn't able to get to her before her hand touched the hilt of the sword. "Kagome!"

Kagome wrapped her fingers around the hilt of the Tetsusaiga and lifted it from the ground before suddenly, her hand fell from the weight of the now fully transformed Tetsusaiga. "Holy crap, InuYasha, how do you swing this thing around with one hand?" she demanded, sheathing the Bakusaiga before using both hands to lift the Tetsusaiga and offering it back to InuYasha who was staring at her with a dumbfounded look on his face. She frowned, looking around at the entire group who was staring at her. "What?" Why was everyone staring at her?

"Kagome… the Tetsusaiga…" Sesshomaru said softly, moving towards her and reaching out. Was something wrong with it? How was she able to hold it? She was a full-blooded demon like himself, why could she hold it still and he couldn't?

Kagome looked down at the sword with a frown. "What about it?"

Sango moved forward then, arching a brow. "Kagome… not only is the Tetsusaiga transformed, it allowed you to pick it up. The barrier didn't reject you."

Kagome eyed the sword in her hand now with understanding. "Well… I guess it's like Totosai said a long time ago. The Tetsusaiga is the protector of mankind, and only those with real compassion towards humans can wield it. Well, I _obviously_ have compassion towards humans so maybe that's why." She shrugged slightly before handing it over to InuYasha who slowly sheathed it once again as Kagome offered the Bakusaiga back to Sesshomaru. She grinned slightly at him at this point, tilting her head. "At least I know beating you now wasn't just a fluke. Now come on, I'm hungry."

InuYasha paused, watching as Kagome moved into the palace along with Sesshomaru. His hand rested on the hilt of the Tetsusaiga, wondering if Kagome's theory was correct. Could it be as simple as that why Kagome could wield the Tetsusaiga now? She had maintained her human compassion, her human emotions, and now had her own demonic strength to help the Tetsusaiga to transform. Could that be true? If it was, did that mean that it wasn't just him that the sword was meant for? He had thought that the Tetsusaiga had chosen him, because it allowed no one else was able to even handle it.

Was there nothing even remotely special about him? Is that why Kagome had chosen his brother over him? The Tetsusaiga was always something he could have counted on to belong to him and not Sesshomaru. But, if Kagome could wield it, what would stop Sesshomaru from learning how to wield it.

Was he doomed to lose everything he held dear to his good-for-nothing brother?

* * *

A/N: This is mostly just a filler chapter, of no real importance to the story, but the idea for it just popped into my head this morning and I couldn't help thinking 'oh how funny would that be', so yeah, here it is. Stay tuned for the next chapter, and keep reviewing!


	19. New Life

Life was nearly perfect for Kagome Taisho. Nearly perfect because she was 6 months pregnant and she was expecting her pup to be born any day now. Nearly perfect because she was married to the most powerful Lord in all four corners of Japan. Nearly perfect because she had wonderful friends who loved her, and it was nearly perfect because she missed her mother and her grandfather and her brother so desperately. It wasn't made any better by all these blessed hormone surges that she was undergoing.

She'd be laughing one moment and tears in the next, and then she'd be yelling at Sesshomaru for letting her give up her family for him. She felt absolutely awful about it, she didn't know how Sesshomaru put up with her, though he always remained calm. He didn't raise his voice to her and he never seemed to get angry with her. Unlike Miroku, who was dealing with a pregnant Sango, Sesshomaru didn't get cross with her at all.

At the moment, she was sitting beneath a tree in the garden, singing softly to the unborn child within her. She wished vaguely that she'd thought to bring a CD player back to the feudal era so she could play music for her baby. Music made the baby smarter if she remembered correctly. Well, _some_ music. She smiled vaguely, barely even noticing the semi-protective guard from the tree above as InuYasha sat there quietly. She smiled as she felt the baby kick.

"_Hush now, don't you cry_

_I'll wipe away the teardrop for your eyes_

_You're lying safe in bed_

_It was all a bad dream spinning in your head_

_Your mind tricked you to feel the pain_

_Of someone close to you leaving the game_

_Of life_

_So here it is, another chance_

_Wide awake you face the day_

_The dream is over_

_There's a place I like to hide_

_A doorway that I run to in the night_

_Relax child, you were there_

_And only didn't realize, 'cause you were scared_

_It's a place where you will learn_

_To face your fears, retrace your tears_

_And ride the winds of your mind_

_Commanding in another world_

_Suddenly you hear and see this magic new dimension_

_I will be watching over you_

_I'm gonna help you see it through_

_I will protect you in the night_

_In silent lucidity_"

Kagome smiled slightly as she leaned against the tree gently, closing her eyes as the baby seemed to quiet down. She was just glad that he was giving it a rest for a moment, he was strong, and she was sure her whole insides were bruised with the force of his kicks. Or her kicks, she supposed. She didn't know what sex the baby would be. She would kill for an ultrasound right about now, actually. It was surprising the things she missed from her own era.

Her medical supplies had long since been depleted, so now she was relying on feudal era remedies, which sucked. It also meant she was going to suffer labor through natural childbirth. Ugh, no drugs to make the pain lessen. It was going to suck major balls.

"Kagome?" InuYasha's voice brought Kagome from her thoughts as she tilted her head back to look up at InuYasha.

"Hm?" she inquired simply.

"Why do you sing like that?" It wasn't said with any intention of cruelty, just curiosity. It caused Kagome to smile absently.

"It calms the baby. In my time, it has been proven that baby's whose mother's sing to them or play music for them turn out to be smarter." Kagome stroked her hand absently over her swollen stomach. It was amazing how quickly she'd grown because inugami's had such a short gestation period for their pups.

She sighed softly, shaking her head. "InuYasha… can you help me up? I don't think I can do it by myself," she stated, laughing softly as she looked up at him apologetically. As he leapt down, she reached up and took his hands as he gently lifted her up, though as she leaned forward to get on her feet, there was suddenly something warm and wet rushing down her legs. "Oh dear kami," she hissed softly, looking up at InuYasha. "My water just broke!"

InuYasha's eyes widened. "I- but Sesshomaru isn't here! He had something to take care of in a village not far from here! Should I go get him?"

Kagome winced, holding tightly to InuYasha's hand. "N-no. No, you need to help me to the birthing room, InuYasha," she whimpered softly. InuYasha's eyes widened slightly before he proceeded to just lift Kagome bridal style into his arms and darting into the palace to the birthing room, finding a servant near the door. "Kagome's gone into labor, find the midwives and healers!" He exclaimed.

While he wasn't exactly pleased that Kagome was going to give birth to his brother's pup, he wasn't about to let Kagome suffer. He gently lay Kagome down on the mattress readied a few days before for just this occasion. "Kagome, I have to leave, men aren't allowed in here," he said simply, though Kagome was refusing to release his hand.

"Please, InuYasha, don't leave me alone, please…" she whispered, even as the healer came in with Sango behind her. The healer moved forward, attempting to usher InuYasha out. "No! He's staying here! Please, don't leave me, InuYasha, please!" She pleaded. Her eyes were fixed on InuYasha's, silently begging him not to leave her. "It's done all the time back home, please, just… just stay with me, please."

* * *

Sesshomaru wasn't there to be with her, she needed someone to help her that wasn't busy doing something with the healer. InuYasha sighed, glancing to the healer who didn't seem pleased but never-the-less, shifted Kagome up slightly and positioned himself behind her, gently holding both of her hands as she leaned back against him. "I'll never leave you alone, Kagome," InuYasha whispered, kissing her forehead gently.

"Lord Sesshomaru! Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken's voice was heard from the sky as Ah-Un landed in the middle of a human village where Sesshomaru was speaking with the headman. "Lord Sesshomaru! The Lady is in labor!" he exclaimed.

Sesshomaru's eyes widened for a brief moment. He turned back to the human. "I apologize, but I must return to the palace at once, my Mate needs me." With that, he took flight and rushed back to the palace with Jaken behind him. He rushed into the palace only to be stopped by Miroku, Shippo, and Rin outside the room.

"You're not allowed to go in there," Miroku commented dryly. "No males in the birthing room." Now, there was only one person missing, but no one really cared where InuYasha was, they were far to worried about the screams coming from within the birthing room.

* * *

Holy mother of all that was fucking holy! This much pain couldn't be natural! Something _had_ to be wrong! Why did this hurt so much? Kagome was holding InuYasha's hands quite tightly, though the hanyou behind her didn't utter one word of complaint. Even being a gentleman, he didn't even look towards where the healers and Sango were working to try and bring the baby out. His head remained bowed against her own as he whispered that everything was going to be alright. Muttering sweet comforts to his friend who was in such pain.

"Alright, Kagome, the baby is in distress, the umbilical cord is wrapped around its neck, if you keep pushing you might strangle it, so just hold off." Sango's voice was methodical, though Kagome could hear the slight tremor in her tone. The infant had already been partially pushed out, the head had already breached her entrance, though she was forced to remain with the infant lodged within her as they attempted to gently cut the cord from the infants neck.

She was not going to be able to last much longer, there was so much pain. Her nose was assaulted by all of the blood that she could smell as her eyes filled with tears. "Inu," she whispered softly, her voice barely a whimper. "Inu, please… if I don't make it through this, please… don't let Sesshy turn the baby into a drone, please…" she whispered softly.

"Almost there, Kagome, just hold on," Sango continued. "You're doing great, sister, just hold on a little longer." It seemed to last a lifetime before Sango let out a sound of victory. "Okay! Push, Kagome, push!" And with one last grunt and scream, Kagome pressed back against the firm form of her best friend and the infant was finally allowed to slide free of her womb.

Thank kami it was over. She felt like she'd just had every vital organ ripped out through her sex. However, as she lay against InuYasha, the labor pains weren't stopping. She cried out again as she felt something else tear. It was then that she heard the healer.

"We're not done here yet. There's another infant, I can feel it," she exclaimed. Sango took the first infant, drying it off as Kagome cried out. "You need to push again, Kagome. Come on, that a girl. Push!"

"I don't think I can push anymore," Kagome cried out, eyes closed.

"Come on, Kagome, for the pup, think about the baby, Kagome, come on. This one should be easy," the healer encouraged. So Kagome pressed back against InuYasha once more and cried out as she pushed as hard as she could and she felt the next infant cresting and slide free of her. The next thing she knew, she had blacked out.

* * *

"Lord Sesshomaru?"

It had been quiet for several minutes by this point and Sesshomaru was nearly beside himself, pacing the halls, a genuine look of worry and fear mixed with pain at the sounds of his mates screams on his face. He paused in his pacing as the healer came out.

"Lord Sesshomaru, I am pleased to tell you that your Mate gave birth to two pups. One female, one male," she said softly. "Your mate, unfortunately, is unconscious. She lost a lot of blood during the birthing process and will need a lot of bed rest. You may go in now," she said, stepping aside.

Sesshomaru brushed past her and into the room before stopping short. "InuYasha? What the hell are you doing in here? Have you been in here the whole time?" he demanded, rushing forward, though stopped again as he noticed that InuYasha was holding a small bundle.

InuYasha slowly rose to his feet. "Yes, I was. Because she refused to let me leave, she was petrified, Sesshomaru," he whispered softly. "But she was as strong as any full-blooded demon tonight," he said softly as he moved towards him and gently placed the bundle in his brother's arms. "For now, meet your son and heir."

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A/N: Lyrics credited to Queensryche, the name of the song is Silent Lucidity! Hope you all enjoy the chapter! Please review!


	20. A Perfect Family Portrait

"InuKimi, slow down, sweetheart," Kagome called out after her daughter who was running away from her brother. She sighed, sitting down on a bench in the garden and shook her head slightly as her son tackled her daughter down to the ground and the proceeded to wrestle. "Touga, we don't pull hair!" She rose up at her daughter's screech as her brother pulled her hair. Leaning down, she lifted her son up off of her daughter and separated them.

InuKimi, named for Sesshomaru's mother, wiped at her cheek where there was obviously a tear streak down from her amber-colored eyes. InuKimi could be a complete replica of Sesshomaru except for the black tips all along the bottom of her hair. When she'd been born, her hair had been short enough that they'd believed it to be black until it had grown out with silver roots. Like her mother, InuKimi had one single stripe on either cheek running down her back over her arms and wrists and her legs and feet with her father's crescent moon on her forehead. "It's alright, baby," she stated softly before looking at her son. "Touga, apologize to your sister."

"But Mom! She called me a silly boy!" Touga protested, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't care, that doesn't warrant pulling her hair. How would you like it if she pulled your hair for calling her a silly girl?" Kagome questioned. Touga, unlike his sister, had black hair with what looked like silver highlights, making it seem like his hair shone in the sunlight. Two stripes ran down both of his cheeks, arms, and legs just like his father. His eyes were also much darker than his sisters, closer to Kagome's original brown color than Sesshomaru's natural amber, and Sesshomaru said that was why he had decided to name their son after his father, because the Great Dog Demon had been graced with darker eyes than himself.

Touga lowered his gaze to the ground, clenching his fists and then wincing as his nails bit into his palms and he relaxed his grip before he broke the skin. "No, I guess not. I'm sorry I pulled your hair Kimi," he said softly before looking back up at his mother. "When will Miyatsu be coming back over?" he asked her.

"He will be back whenever his parents bring him over to play again, Touga." Kagome reached up, brushing a strand of hair from his face gently. "He only left yesterday morning, do you miss him so much already?" A laugh was given when Touga lightly nodded his head. "Don't you worry; he will be back over before you know it, Baby."

Miyatsu was the son of Sango and Miroku, named for Miroku's grandfather whom Naraku had originally cursed with the wind tunnel. He was over quite a lot seeing as how Touga was only two months older than Miyatsu, they got along very well. Even though Sesshomaru spent plenty of time with his son, teaching him how to fight so that he would be a strong ruler for the West lands when the time came, Touga loved spending time with his friend or with Shippo.

Kimi, more often than not, was either with Kagome or with Rin. Rin had taken on the role of 'older sister' quite well. She loved both Touga and InuKimi and was always trying to help take care of them, even when they were younger. At 7 years old, the two of them, Touga especially, tended to think they were too old to be babied anymore. But InuKimi at least could spend 'girl time' with Rin that she didn't spend with her mom.

Kagome smiled at her two children, sighing softly as she straightened up and looked over as Sesshomaru walked into the garden. "Good afternoon, Mate," she replied easily, smiling at him.

"Good afternoon, Mate," Sesshomaru replied in turn, leaning in to kiss her cheek gently before looking at the children. "You two behaving for your mother?" he asked, to which both children vehemently began to nod. He looked over at Kagome. "Have they been good?"

Kagome chuckled, nodding slightly. "Yes, they have been very good," she stated simply. "Why do you ask?" Usually, Sesshomaru had some sort of other angle whenever he asked if the children had been good, some sort of special treat for them.

"Well, I was thinking of going into the village and thought that Ah-Un needed to get away from the palace and stretch out a bit, but I have no need of Ah-Un carrying me, so I was wondering if there were any volunteers to make sure that Ah-Un behaved themselves while my back was turned," Sesshomaru suggested.

Touga immediately grinned before forcing himself to contain his enthusiasm. "Father, might I be allowed to accompany you?" he asked in as formal a voice as a seven year old could manage, looking up at his father and not quite managing the stoic mask that Sesshomaru had long-since perfected.

"Me too, me too, Daddy!" InuKimi shrieked, not nearly as composed as her brother. But then, in Sesshomaru's eyes, females were supposed to be a bit over-emotional. It was to be expected.

Sesshomaru glanced towards Kagome. "Would you like to accompany us?" he asked softly, brushing hair from her face this time with a very faint smile. The smile was so faint that anyone other than his immediate family and friends would have missed it.

Kagome looked down at the kids and pretended to debate over the subject mentally, laughing as both children latched themselves onto her legs and pleaded with her. "Alright, alright, let's go then," she stated, smiling slightly. The children cheered then rushed towards the gate where Ah-Un were already waiting for them.

Kagome walked beside Sesshomaru, smiling as she watched her children attempt to climb onto the back of the dragon without aid and continued to fail. Kagome was content in her new life. She had four beautiful children, her friends, and her husband. There was only one thing that was missing, and she had to admit that it hurt her somewhat that her mother would never be able to attend her grandchildren's 16th birthday party.

Her mother wouldn't be able to buy them a car and warn them not to text and drive or to drink and drive. Her mother wouldn't be able to take pictures of them when they turned 18 and graduated from high school. Her brother wouldn't get to make fun of her for having children so young. Her grandfather wouldn't be able to sit down and tell her children about the ancient family shrine and bore them to tears.

Well… not yet at least. Kagome smiled slightly as she reached her children and helped lift them onto Ah-Un's back and climbed up behind them. She looked down at Sesshomaru and smiled, looking forward to the day, 500 years into the future, when she would be able to introduce him to her mother as her husband and her mate.

She just hoped Souta got over the disappointment that she hadn't married his hero, InuYasha.

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A/N: And that's the end of this segment! Sorry this last chapter was so short. But don't you worry, don't you cry, I am now starting on the sequel to this story, so stay on the lookout! Please review!


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